Replaced
by Basara of Ryther
Summary: Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team, What about Lucy?
1. Going Solo

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>This story is replacing my previous Fairy Tail story. I hope that you like it a whole lot better. ^ . \^

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><p><strong>Chapter 1- Going Solo<strong>

Lucy Heartfilia lay her head down on the bar and groaned, though the groan was inaudible over the blare of the music that was playing. This party had been going on for three days now and it didn't look like it was going to stop anytime soon. Lisanna was 'back from the dead', or so Natsu had said. Still, was it necessary to have a party this long? Somebody turned the music up to its max and Lucy's headache only worsened. She'd had enough of this. Grabbing her jacket and Plue, who was dancing with Visitor, she left the loud guild building. No one seemed to notice her departure.

"Plue, is it really necessary to have that big of a party?" she asked as they walked home. It was dark out and the only light was what the street lamps gave off.

"Puuun."

Lucy sighed, knowing that Plue wasn't going to be much help. "Never mind." She sighed again. "You can go home now if you want."

"Puun." Plue saluted her and disappeared.

"Even you don't want to hang out with me. You'd rather be at the party." She sulked. When Lucy arrived home, she plopped down on her bed, completely spent. She never knew Lisanna, so she felt very alien in the guild now. Juvia seemed to just care about Gray, not the party and Gazille had left for a job the day the party had started. Lucy suspected he didn't want to bother with the loud noise. Wendy was a child, so she got along with Lisanna from day one. Lucy, on the other hand, had just stayed at the bar drinking her tea every day. It was getting kind of tiresome and she wanted to do a job. Changing out of her clothes and into some pajamas, she decided to ask Natsu tomorrow if they could go on a job.

The next day, Lucy woke up to the sound of rain on the roof. It was a light drizzle, nothing to be worried about. Stretching, Lucy got out of bed and took a quick shower. The water felt pleasant on her icy skin as she washed her body. Lucy had always had a low body temperature in the mornings, so she never really had a problem waking up cold because her body already was. Today, she would be going on a job with Natsu. She smiled at the thought.

She pulled on a pair of black skinny jeans and then put a blue skirt over it. On top, she wore a dark blue T-shirt and a black zip up hoodie to keep her dry. As she brushed her hair, she thought about what kind of job they might go on. An escort job? No, Natsu almost burned down an entire forest last time they tried that. A long term mission? Natsu might complain about how long it's taking. She sighed as she finished with her hair. The last thing she did was attach her key pouch to her belt and pull on her black combat boots.

Lucy locked the door behind her and headed for the guild. When she got there, the party had finally ended. It was a mess. There were tankards everywhere some were partially filled others were either empty or tipped over. Piles of vomit were in various places and there was food on the floor to join the rest of the mess. Lucy was surprised she didn't throw up herself.

"Lucy!" She heard a familiar voice call. Lucy turned to the voice and found Natsu sitting next to Lisanna. Gray was passed out on the other side of the table and Erza was sitting next to him, talking with Lisanna.

"Natsu, I need to talk to you." Lucy called, jogging over to the table.

"Hold on. We need to ask you something." Erza said. She looked very happy.

"Alright, what is it?" Lucy stood in front of their table now.

"We want to have Lisanna in our group again." Natsu said. Lucy went cold. "Before she, uh, left, we all used to be a really good team." He explained.

"Yeah. And if you go solo, you can get stronger. So. . ." Erza trailed off, having nothing else to add to her comment.

Lucy forced a smile on her face. "It's fine. You guys were probably a great team." She was trying not to cry.

"Now what did you need to talk to me about?" Natsu asked, leaning forward.

"Oh, never mind. It's nothing important. I need to find a job so that I can pay my rent. See you guys later then." She waved and kept smiling, then turned and went to the job board. At random, she picked one and headed up to the Master's office.

Quietly, she knocked on the door, hoping that he was in.

"Come in Lucy." She dropped her fake smile and went in.

"Can I ask a favor of you Master?" She asked, hanging her head down.

"What's wrong Lucy? You look sad." The Master said. Lucy looked up and smiled a little. The Master was in his pajamas and was drinking coffee.

"I'm now a soloist. Natsu has his old team back and I'm no longer needed. I feel that I was just a replacement for Lisanna." Tears forced their way to her eyes.

"Oh Lucy, I doubt that you were meant as a replacement." Makarov came over and patted her on the back. "What was the favor you were talking about?"

Lucy cleared her face as best she could before turning to him. "I was wondering if I could leave the guild for a while." When the guild Master's eyes went wide, she shook her head quickly. "Not permanently, just until I get strong enough to be able to do things by myself. Right now, I'm too weak to do anything by myself."

It was silent for a long time before Makarov finally heaved a big sigh. "When are you leaving and how long do you plan on being gone from the guild?"

Lucy finally smiled a real smile and hugged him. "I'm planning on leaving when Natsu and them leave on a job so that they don't find out. If they find out, then I might be killed before I can leave the building." She shivered at the thought. "It'll probably be at least a year. If I need more time I can contact you, but other than that, I won't be talking to anyone from the guild."

"Alright. Come see me when they leave and I'll temporarily remove the Fairy Tail mark." Makarov felt Lucy stiffen and he squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry, it's not permanent. It'll come back when you're done with your, uh, training?" He wasn't sure if 'training' was the right word.

"Okay. I'm going to go home now, and, can I do this short job?" Lucy held out the piece of paper. The job was a moving job from an elderly woman.

"Sure. I'll turn it in right away. See you later then Lucy." He waved as Lucy left the room. Natsu and his group were still talking happily to each other and when Lucy came down the stairs, Natsu waved. Lucy waved back, feeling the sting in her chest. At least he didn't hate her.

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><p>Lucy walked down Magnolia's street toward the place of her job. It was a 5,000 yen job. Not a whole lot, but it would do for her bank account. It had stopped raining outside and the sun was coming through the clouds. Lucy looked at the sky and sighed.<p>

"I'm glad someone's happy." She muttered to the sky. Lucy walked up to a bright yellow house and knocked on the door. It was opened by a small boy. He had black hair and big brown eyes.

"Grandma, some girl's here." The boy called behind him. A few moments later, the door opened wider and a tall woman was standing behind the child.

"Who are you?" She asked. Even though her hair was silver and used a walking stick, the woman scared her.

"I'm here about the job you posted in on the guild board." Lucy said, trying not to sweat too much.

"Oh, come in." Suddenly, the woman didn't look so scary anymore. She looked kinder. "We've got everything ready to move. I was about to just call the moving company."

"Alright, where are we moving everything to?" Lucy asked.

"Well, first, we're moving all the big things with my carriage and I'll drive from there. You're going to be doing the loading up, that is," The old woman looked at Lucy's skinny body. "if you can move anything."

"Don't worry about me, I'm a mage remember?" Lucy smiled and pulled out her keys.

"A celestial mage?" The elderly woman inquired, raising an elegant eyebrow. Just because she was elderly, didn't mean that she wasn't pretty.

"Yes. Do you know anything about spirits?" Lucy asked as she followed the woman and the small child down a hallway crowded with boxes.

"I used to be a celestial wizard. But then, I had an accident and couldn't use my spirits anymore." The woman looked a little sad.

"I'm sorry to hear that. My name's Lucy and I'm happy to help you with your things." Lucy held out her hand to the woman who took it in a firm hand.

"I'm Uma and this is my grandson Hisoka." She introduced. The little boy shook Lucy's hand as well.

"So are the appliances moving first or the furniture?" Lucy asked, looking around the crowded living room.

"The appliances are staying here. We're only taking the rocking chair, table and beds." Uma put her hands on her hips and looked around. "Everything else will be put in the trailer."

"Alright." Lucy grabbed one of her keys. "Virgo, I summon thee."

"You called princess?" Virgo appeared next to her, body half bent in a bow.

"Virgo, we're helping Uma and Hisoka move. We're starting with the table, beds and that rocking chair." Then she looked at Uma who was examining Virgo critically. "We'll move those outside before we load them into the carriage trunk, then we can see how best they fit so you can have more space for your things." Uma just nodded.

"The carriage is through the back door. It'll be easier to get to from here." Uma explained, then started moving the rocking chair.

"Have Virgo help you with that. It looks old and I'm presuming it's important to you since it's the only chair you're taking with you." Lucy smiled and started picking up parts of the bed that was in several different pieces.

"Thank you Virgo." Uma said as the spirit picked up the chair. Uma directed her out the door.

Lucy turned to Hisoka who was standing awkwardly between boxes. "Hisoka-kun, why don't you help me take out this bed? We'll do one bed at a time so that we don't get the different parts mixed up." Hisoka slowly nodded and waited until Lucy was out the door before grabbing a piece of the bed Lucy had started on and following her outside.

After about two hours of getting everything outside, Lucy decided to venture and ask. "Uma-san, do you mind my asking where you're going?"

Uma stood up straight from setting down a big box. The woman was strong despite her age. "We're going back to where I was raised. Hisoka's parents died in a train accident recently and I want him to get away from the city. Every child should spend at least a small portion of their life in the country."

Lucy smiled at that. "I agree with you."

"Since you asked me a question, I get to ask you one." Uma said as they went back into the house.

"What is it?" Lucy picked up another box. This one was lighter than the last one, but still quite heavy.

"Why would a mage like you want to take up such a job as this? I'm only paying you 5,000 yen and that's not a whole lot for a job like this."

Lucy's smile faltered a little, but stayed on. "I'm useless without a team and mine got their old teammate back, so I'm on my own. I'm leaving the guild for a while so that I could get stronger, but I really have no idea how I'm going to do that. I don't know where my old master is and even if I did, I've learned all that I can from him." Lucy stretched her back after putting the heavy box in the trailer. "This is my last job for a long time." She heaved a big sigh.

Uma seemed very quiet as if contemplating something. Then she shook her head, but the look didn't go away. Lucy just shrugged it off and kept working. It was mid afternoon by the time the packing was all done.

"Thanks Lucy. What are you planning to do the rest of the day?" She asked as she stood in the doorway.

"I'll probably hang out at the guild until dark and then go back home and pack. I'm leaving this week."

"Why not now?"

Lucy blinked. Why was Uma so interested in it? "I'm waiting for my old group to leave on a job so that I can get out of here alive. They're still my friends, but I don't like saying good-bye." Then she turned and said over her shoulder, "Have fun moving."

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><p>Well that's it for now. I'll have the next chapter up in about a week. ~Please~ Review. ^ . \^ Thanks!


	2. Leaving With A Master

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>Okay, Normally I would respond to everyone personally at the beginning of every chapter like in WU, but there were just so many that I decided to do it the simple way and say <strong>THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR READING MY STORIES!<strong> I had such a big hit with the first chapter, I'm hoping that I can get the same amount of reviews as last time. ^/ . \^ Please read and Review!

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><p><strong>Chapter 2- Leaving with a Master<strong>

Lucy walked into the guild and found that it was back to normal. She loved Fairy Tail, but she just didn't feel right with it at the moment. Looking around, she didn't see the head she was looking for.

Lucy then walked over to the bar where Mirajane was serving drinks. "Hey Mira, where's Natsu?"

Mira looked up from cleaning a tankard and smiled. "Oh, Lucy. Natsu, Gray, Erza, and Lisanna went on a job. It'll last at least three weeks." Then something seemed to pop up in her head. "Why aren't you with them Lucy?"

Lucy looked at Mira and tried not to seem too sad as she smiled. "I thought you already knew. They dropped me. They said that if I went solo, I could get stronger." Lucy had twisted Natsu's and Erza's words a little.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know." Mira had a look of sadness on her face and she set down the glass.

"Is the Master in his office?" Lucy asked, trying to get away from the pitying look on Mira's face.

"Yeah. You can go see him right now if you want." Mirajane said with a smile. Her expressions changed so quickly.

"Thanks." Lucy waved and headed up to Makarov's office.

"Come in Lucy." Makarov said before she could even knock on the door. She sighed and shook her head before opening the door. "They left about two hours ago. They were looking for you to say good-bye, but I told them that you were on a job." Makarov jumped down from the desk and looked at Lucy. "Are you sure you want to do this Lucy?" He asked.

She took a deep breath before she nodded her head. "Yes."

"Alright then. Give me your hand." Lucy held out her hand and Makarov took it. His other hand hovered over her's and he said something that she couldn't understand. The pink Fairy Tail sign did nothing at first, but then it started to form a bubble. Lucy watched as the bubble grew until it was about the size of her fist and then it popped, leaving nothing behind.

Lucy stared at her now bare hand. It was so weird to see tan skin on her hand now. She'd gotten so used to the pink sign of Fairy Tail being there that she'd forgotten she had skin under it.

"Don't worry. It'll come back when you're ready to return." Makarov reassured. Lucy hadn't noticed that she'd started crying and she quickly wiped the tears away.

"I know, but it still makes me sad." She hugged her hand to her chest. "Thank you Master. I'll be back when I'm stronger." And with that said, she left the room with a new determination.

As she passed her guild members on her way out she waved to every one of them and said, 'see you later' instead of the traditional 'good-bye.' Lucy hated saying good-bye.

When Lucy was outside of the guild, she was very much surprised to see Uma waiting there with Hisoka right behind her. "Uma- san? What are you doing here?" She asked, hurrying to them with a confused look on her face.

"You want to get stronger right?" She asked folding her arms across her chest.

"Yes." Lucy's eyes brightened up.

"If you come with me, I'll teach you how to become the strongest celestial mage known to all mages." Uma said.

"Seriously? You'd do that?" Lucy was ready to jump for joy. Then she noticed the smirkish smile on Uma's face. "There's a catch isn't there?"

Uma smiled. "How very observant you are Lucy dear." Uma said in a way too sweet voice.

"I'm afraid to find out." Lucy said, more to herself than to Uma.

"If you want to be my apprentice, you're going to have to pay for any damage we my cause."

Lucy gaped at her. "Exactly how intense is this 'teaching' going to be?"

Uma's smirk changed to a grin. "As intense as mine was. I'm no novice when it comes to magic my dear. Learning magic the right way is not easy task."

'The right way?' Lucy thought, but she just shrugged it aside. She had herself a master to teach her how to become a strong mage.

"When do you plan to leave?" Uma asked.

"Oh, I was just going home to pack my stuff. My old team left on a job so I'm free to leave the city without the threat of being killed."

"I'll follow you to your home and then I'll get the carriage." Uma started walking with Lucy to her apartment building. "So, your friends finally left?"

Lucy looked at the ground and nodded her head. "Yeah, but according to the Master, they were looking for me to say good-bye to before they left. Although, he could just be saying that to make me feel better."

The rest of the way there was spent in an awkward silence, so Lucy was glad when they finally arrived at her place. "I'm on the second floor. It's the best spot in the building." Lucy pulled Uma and Hisoka up to her room and opened the door. "It was fun living here." She said, more to the room than to Uma.

"Aren't you still going to live here?" Uma asked, looking the place over.

Lucy turned to Uma with confusion written all over her face. "I'm going with you and I'm not coming back to Magnolia, so I can't exactly pay for this apartment."

"Don't you know about apartment holding?" Uma placed her hands on her hips and frowned. Lucy stared at her with a blank face. "You can put your rent on hold and they won't sell it. The only con to doing this is that you'll be placed in debt for a long time."

Lucy sighed. She seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. "How do I put a hold on my rent?"

"Well, first of all, get a hold of your landlord and ask him about it. Every apartment building has a holding system." Hisoka was looking around at Lucy's place with much interest.

"You can look around if you want Hisoka-kun, just don't touch anything other than the furniture please." Lucy said to him and he nodded his head vigorously. Then he was gone, snooping around.

"You don't have a lot of stuff." Uma noted as Lucy pulled out the clothes she was going to take with her.

"No, not really. I never had a lot of money when I moved here so I only have what I originally came with, plus a few extra things that I picked up." Lucy said as she folded her pants and packed them into her pink and blue traveling bag. Uma went through the small kitchen and examined it carefully.

"This is quite the place you've got. It's equipped with a really good kitchen and bathroom. Everything functions correctly I presume?" Uma asked, looking at the oven.

"Uh, yeah." Lucy snapped the latches on her bag shut and sat it upright on the ground. "I have my stuff ready, all I need to do now is talk to my land lord about that holding."

"I'll get the carriage over here then." Uma said. "Would you mind if I left Hisoka with you?"

Lucy shook her head. "No, it's fine. We'll have to get to know each other sooner or later." Lucy said, smiling.

Uma looked skeptical, but then shrugged her shoulders and disappeared through the door. Lucy noticed that Uma didn't really use her walking stick for walking, she just carried it around, not really letting it touch the ground when she walked. "Weird." Lucy muttered to herself. "Hisoka- kun." She called. Hisoka came out of the bathroom and she looked at him strangely. The bathroom? "Uma-san left you with me for the time being. She went to go get the carriage while I'm placing the hold on my apartment." She held out her hand toward him and he stared at it like it had an extra finger or something.

"We're just going down the street a few houses where my landlord lives. Just follow me, you don't have to hold my hand." Lucy put on her jacket again and grabbed her bag. Hisoka followed behind her silently.

Lucy came to a stop two houses down and knocked on the white door of the big house. It was answered by a middle-aged woman with light brown hair. "Yes? Who are you?"

Lucy smiled politely. She guessed that it did look a bit strange, a young woman with a child on her doorstep. "Hi, my name is Lucy. I'm need to see Mr. Misaki about my apartment."

The woman still looked skeptical, but called he husband over anyways. "Ah, Lucy-san." The landowner said when he saw her. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to ask if I could put my apartment on hold. I'm going to be gone for a year or so, and I really like that apartment. I promise I'll pay the twelve months rent when I get back." She pleaded, putting her hands together and halfway bowing to him.

"Yeah, you can put it on hold, but where are you planning to go for a whole year if I may ask?" He asked, scratching his head.

"I'm going to train to become a stronger mage. Natsu and the others got their old teammate back so they don't need me anymore and I can't do anything big unless I'm on a team. Oh and if you see a boy with pink hair, a girl with red hair and a guy that keeps taking his clothes off in my apartment, it's okay because they always sneak into it."

"Alright. I'll expect you back in a year's time. That's a high price to pay when you get back though."

"I know, but I really need to do this. And if I need an extension, I'll contact you. Thanks Mr Misaki." He just nodded and said good-bye before closing the door. When Lucy turned around again, Uma was there with the carriage and Hisoka was sitting next to her.

Lucy walked up to the carriage and looked up at Uma. "Where do I put my stuff and where am I supposed to sit?" The cab of the carriage was packed with stuff from their old house, so it wasn't fit to sit in.

"Squeeze your stuff in the cab and climb up on top." Lucy stared at the cab for a while, trying to figure out where exactly to stuff her stuff in.

"I'll just bring my stuff up on top because I don't think that there's any room to fit my bag in." Lucy said.

"Alrighty then. Hisoka, grab her bag and I'll help you pull it up." Hisoka nodded at Uma and then turned to grab the handle of the traveling bag. Lucy supported it from the bottom and Uma pulled it up and set it on top of the carriage where a few other belongings were placed, then held out her hand to help Lucy get up. "Hisoka, would you get up there for a second?" Uma asked, meaning the top of the carriage.

"Yes, baa-chan." Hisoka obediently climbed on top of the carriage and Uma helped Lucy up into the passenger's seat of the carriage. After successfully getting on the carriage, Lucy traded spots with Hisoka and their journey started.

As they were rolling out of Magnolia, Lucy stood on her knees and faced the city. "See you later Magnolia!" She called to the city. She was finally on a journey to becoming stronger, and when she achieved that goal, she would no longer be a burden to her friends.

Lucy didn't see Uma smiling as she turned around and faced the road ahead of her.

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><p>HOPE that you loved it! I'm going to try and update every Sunday and I already have the next couple of chapters ready. When I'm caught up with the chapter I'm typing, they might be a little delayed, but I'm hoping to stay ahead and keep the weekly updates. PLEASE~ review! Thanks! ^ . \^

P.S. They don't have **mage** in the dictionary here ;P


	3. Natsu's Team Returns

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>I want to thank everyone who left a review and thank you for continuing to read. Please leave another review when you have finished this chapter. I was a little late getting it up today because I just got back from a trip. Thank you for your patience!<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 3- Team Natsu Returns<strong>

"Lisanna, I told you to guard _him_, not Natsu!" Erza yelled at Lisanna. Team Natsu had just barely gotten away from being killed. Lisanna hung her head, she was crying.

"I'm s-sorry." She apologized, wiping at her eyes.

"Sorry doesn't cut it. Because of your actions, we nearly lost our lives and the life of Tama-san." Erza kept pacing back and forth in front of Lisanna, attempting not to strangle the girl. Tama, their client, was sitting on the ground under a tree, still white in the face after his near death experience.

"I didn't mean to, I just-."

"You think Natsu can't handle himself? He's gone through worse than what you saw out there Lisanna. Do you think he's so incapable of protecting himself?" Erza stopped pacing and sat down on the ground, hard, pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. "It was so much easier with Lucy." She said more to herself, then she glare at Lisanna. "At least she believed in Natsu and did what she was told."

Lisanna flinched, hurt by the sudden snake's bite given by Erza. Natsu and Gray were lying down between her and their client, unconscious. The enemy had fled when Erza brought out her Angel's armor and beat half of their butts.

"Don't do that again Lisanna or else you're in for big trouble." Erza said to the white haired girl. With that being said, Erza picked up both Natsu and Gray and started down the road again. Tama stuck close behind her. When Lisanna wasn't following, Erza called out, "I wouldn't care to leave you here by yourself right now." Lisanna quickly got to her feet and followed a safe distance behind her teammate.

Erza sat down on the queen sized bed, drying her hair and thinking about what had happened earlier that day. She was still very angry with Lisanna about her screw up and wasn't planning on forgiving her any time soon. A mistake like that nearly killed them all. It looked like she forgot her role in their team, either that or she was forgetting that this Natsu wasn't the Edolas' Natsu who seemed to be afraid of everything outside his car.

She gave an exasperated sigh and dropped the towel on the floor. Ex-quipping into a pair of pajamas, she walked out the door and down the hall to Natsu and Gray's room. Gray was sitting on the edge of his bed looking like he was thinking about something. Natsu was still asleep on the next bed.

When Gray saw Erza come in, he got to his feet looking pissed. "Why did you yell at Lisanna?" he demanded. So that's what he was thinking about. Erza sat on the end of Natsu's bed and made herself comfortable before finally facing the pissed off ice mage.

"She told you about that?" Erza inquired, examining her nails.

"Yes, she did. Now answer. Why did you yell at her?" Gray's face looked like it would burst from all the blood rushing to his head.

"I simply told her what she did wrong and to not do it again." Erza looked up from inspecting her nails with eyes that said 'don't ask anymore questions' and hen traveled back to her hand.

"This is her first job since she got back. Give her a break." Gray argued.

Erza's eyes then snapped towards the ice mage. "Whether it was her first job or not, we were nearly killed and it's because of her inability to follow orders that it happened." She was on her feet now and staring the mage down. "I don't want to hear any more of this for the rest of the job, got it?"

Gray looked like he was going to continue arguing, but he seemed to think better of it and sat back down on the bed. Erza then turned to Natsu and checked his vitals to make sure that there was nothing seriously wrong with him. He was just sleeping. She sighed and sat down on his bed again.

"We're finishing this tomorrow and going home, got it?" She asked Gray.

He looked at her for a second and then slowly nodded his head. She left the room and found Lisanna was out of the shower when she stepped into her room. "We're finishing the job tomorrow and then heading home alright?" She asked, getting into her bed and turning her light off.

"Okay." Lisanna agreed, knowing that nothing she said would make Erza forgive her. She lay down in her bed and turned her light off, leaving the room dark.

"We're back!" Natsu shouted as the doors flung open. The rest of his team followed behind him and filed into the guild building.

"Hey Lisanna, how did it go?" Wakaba asked, leaning back in his seat.

"Fine. We're all here." She said smiling. Erza shot her a glare and went over to Mira's bar where Mira prepared her strawberry cake.

"Did something happen?" Mira asked as she set the plate of Erza's favorite cake down in front of the warrior mage.

"If you count almost being killed and having our client almost killed something happening, then yeah, something happened." Erza said, taking a bite of her cake.

"You almost got killed?" Mira asked, alarmed.

"Yeah, because of Lisanna." Erza looked over at the white haired mage that was clinging to Natsu and talking to Wakaba.

"Lisanna? What did she do?" Mira asked, following Erza's gaze.

"She left the client unprotected to try and protect Natsu who was doing perfectly fine." Erza's tone was bitter as she ate the heavenly cake. "Lucy would at least do what she was told and believe in Natsu and the rest of us. But Lisanna," She couldn't find any words to say, so she stuffed another portion of cake in her mouth and held out her plate, indicating for more of the delicious cake.

Mira took the plate and scooped another slice onto it, then handed the plate back. "I can't believe that Lisanna would have so little faith. I'll have to have a talk with her."

"Please do." Erza then seemed to notice something and frowned. "Hey, where's Lucy? I haven't seen her at all, and she's usually the first one to greet us when one of us comes back from a solo mission." Erza said, looking around for the happy blonde. She was nowhere to be seen.

"The Master said that she took a long mission and won't be back for a while." Mira explained and went to tend to another guild member.

"That's strange." Erza muttered to herself. Lucy never took a long term job by herself. Maybe she had taken their words seriously and went solo. Erza left her half eaten cake and went up the stairs to the Master's office. She found the little man looking over papers; that was rare. She knocked on the open door and he looked up.

"Oh, it's you Erza. When did you get back?" Asked the guild master, putting down his papers.

"Just now, but that's not what I came up here for. I wanted to ask you about Lucy. What job did she go on exactly?" She asked, coming into the room.

Makarov smiled and said, "The kind of jobs she picks is her business Erza. She'll be back later. In the meantime, how did your job go?" He hopped out of his chair and walked with her out of the room.

"Horrible. Lisanna nearly got us all killed." Erza was getting tired of saying the same thing over and over again.

"But you're here now aren't you?" He asked as they reached the stairs.

"Yeah, but-."

"Then there's nothing to be worried about. One learns from their mistakes." Makarov sat on Mira's bar and she handed him his tankard full of alcohol.

Erza didn't press the matter any farther and decided to got back home to get some rest and alone time.

Lisanna watched Erza leave the building and glared angrily after her. She'd only disobeyed because she thought Natsu was in trouble. Natsu was more important than the client, that's what she thought at least. She hadn't seen the real Natsu in a long time and she didn't want to lose him so soon. She would rather be safe than sorry.

"Hey Wakaba, where's Lucy?" Natsu then asked. Lisanna turned her gaze to Natsu.

"Lucy-chan?" Wakaba asked, scratching his head. "Um, I think that she took a job. I haven't seen her since I got back a week ago so that must be the reason."

"Oh." Natsu's face went from excited to disappointed.

"Don't look so sad Natsu." Kana said from two tables over. "Lucy'll be back soon. You just need to be patient." She lifted the barrel of alcohol and drank from it.

"Alright." he said and went to sit down. Lucy had actually gone on a job alone. He'd have thought that she would at least have enough sense to take someone with her. Lucy was very weak on her own and worked better when she had at least one other person with her. The fact that she was alone on a long term job was what worried him. If he knew what kind of long term job it was, then he might not be worrying so much, but he didn't know what kind of job it was, so he was worrying.

Two Days Later `~`~`

The Master watched Natsu pace back and forth in front of the bar. He'd never seen the pink haired dragon slayer pace before. It was a new experience. Natsu would go pace three times, then stop and look at the door, and when no one came in, he would repeat the action. This had started late last night. Finally, Erza came up to him and grabbed him by the shoulders.

Shaking him hard, she said, "Natsu, snap out of it. Lucy will come back, so stop pacing." Erza herself was worried about the celestial mage, but she at least had some faith in the blonde. Her, Gray, and Natsu had asked several times where the blonde mage had gone, but the Master refused to tell them. She had been gone for nearly a month, of course everyone else was worried about her too.

The Master seemed to be the only one who knew about her whereabouts and refused to tell anyone. Everyone was getting pushy and when it got to be too much, he locked himself in his office. The members were shocked at this action because the Master had never once locked his door. Something seemed to be terribly off about Lucy's absence and the guild members felt it.

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><p>Thanks for reading. I know this chapter was kind of boring, but it had to be done. It'll make sense later on. Please Review~ and thanks for reading! ^ . \^


	4. Reaching The New Home

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>Sorry that It's late. I got back from two party's yesterday and went swimming, so I completely forgot and fell asleep. Thank you ShiningStellar for reminding me. This chapter has a little action, but the next is where it really starts. Thanks for being patient with me. Please review!<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 4- Reaching The New Home<strong>

"How much longer are we going to travel?" Lucy almost whined. They'd been on the road for almost five weeks now and he was sure that they were no longer in the same country. "We've been traveling for so long already. How far away did you live?" She asked. They were in a desert like place. It had no living trees and no grass. She had yet to see any animals.

"We still have about two more days Lucy. Quit complaining. You'll learn patience that way." Uma said calmly. Even Hisoka hadn't complained yet, she was the only one whining really. Hisoka had barely spoken a word to her throughout this whole trip. Lucy wasn't very thrilled about the way they were traveling because they only stopped at inns to get water, they never stayed the night at them. They slept in the wild and bathed in the river that was quite cold by the way.

They even hunted for food. The day before they'd entered this desert, they had spent the whole day gathering game and plants. The only thing she'd learned this whole trip was how to shoot a bow, and the bow she'd used was too big and heavy for her. Even so, she managed to get a deer. She had to have Uma slit its throat because she was queasy about killing animals. Even when she'd been with her old team, she always plugged her ears and turned away when they killed an animal, which was on rare occasions.

Hisoka had found different herbs and berries while Lucy had devoted herself to catching fish. Uma ended up doing all the gutting of the animals they'd caught. Lucy also learned how to smoke a fish. All the food was on top of the carriage now and the water barrels were in the back compartment of the carriage, out of the sun. This desert was hell a hot and she felt like her skin was going to melt at any moment.

Despite the heat of the day, the nights were freezing cold, and because of this, they normally traveled at dawn and continued on until the sky was dark again. This desert made Lucy glad that she had brought her bathing suit because if she was going to get burned, she'd rather get burned everywhere and have it turn into a tan, or just tan period. Despite all the crazy things she'd done so far, Uma was sensible enough to have brought sun screen.

"Lucy, don't let your guard down. We're entering bandit territory." Uma warned.

"Oh joy." Her voice sounded pleasantly, sarcastically, thrilled as she sat up and turned around so that she could watch their tail. When they stopped for the night, they had yet to run into any thugs. They took turns with the watch and by the time the morning came, Lucy was half asleep. Having so little sleep before this didn't help either.

They had just started off when Hisoka yelled something incoherent to her. Lucy managed to look and see that there was something coming towards them. She groaned and slapped at her face. It didn't work. Even pinching herself didn't work to wake her up anymore. The pounding of the horses feet was now heard clearly and the noise seemed to help with waking her up. Lucy was now able to function to the point where she could fight.

She had a hand on her key pouch and was ready to call out one of her spirits. There were about five people coming towards them on horseback. Lucy glanced over at Uma and Hisoka. Uma had her cane and the reins in her hands and Hisoka had, what looked like, a short sword in his hands. Uma was trying to outrun the bandits. Lucy watched the bandits follow them and get closer to their carriage. They were yelling in some other language that she couldn't understand.

Either that or she was just too tired to be able to translate it into proper Japanese. She was able to snap out of it when she hit her head on the carriage railing. Out of fright, she grasped the railing and clung to the side of the fast moving carriage.

"Haha! Pretty little girl." One of the bandits riding alongside her said. Her eye twitched.

"Virgo, I summon thee!" she shouted, pulling out the key. Virgo appeared on top of the carriage. "Take care of these guys please." she said.

"Yes princess." Virgo was then gone.

"You could at least help me up!" Lucy shouted.

"Looks like your friend abandoned you." the guy laughed and reached for her.

Lucy then grinned and pointed behind the guy. "I don't think so." Virgo then hit the guy from behind and he fell off his horse. Lucy grabbed the reins and the horse kept following the carriage. With a little help from Virgo, she was able to get on top of the horse and ride it. "Thanks Virgo." she said dismissing her. "Cancer!" The crab guy then came out. "Will you help Uma and Hisoka-kun? I'll take care of the guys in the back."

"Yes-ebi." He said. Lucy maneuvered the horse so that it was running behind the carriage. There were three bandits back here and one was about to get on the carriage. "No you don't." Lucy said, using her whip to yank the guy from the carriage. He got run over by one of the horses and the guy's horse just kept running along with the carriage. Lucy grabbed for the reins of the free horse, but at the same time, one of the other bandits reached for them as well. They both reached the reins at the same time.

Lucy looked at the guy over the horse's neck and smiled. "Could you let go please?" She asked him.

"Who do you think I am?" The guy asked laughing.

"An idiot." She said, pointing in front of him. Uma had lead the carriage into a canyon where there were lots of twists and turns. Currently, an overhanging rock just took out the guy and she got the horse. "Thanks." She called after him. Just then, the third bandit grabbed her from behind by the hair. She hadn't anticipated this so she was caught completely off guard.

"Gotcha little girl." The man sneered.

"Ew. You need to brush." She said to the guy. His breath stank and she could see his rotting teeth. "Here goes nothing. Leo!" She knew that it was a big risk to call out two golden keys at once, but it was the only thing she could do in a situation like this.

"Here at your service princess- what are you doing!" Loki punched the thug and sent him flying.

"Thanks Loki." Lucy said. She could feel the strain the summoning was putting on her. Before Loki could say anything more, he disappeared and she expected that Cancer was gone too. She was drained of magic. Lucy tied the three horses to the carriage and made sure to leave enough room for them to slow down. Then she crawled on top of the carriage to see how Uma and Hisoka were fairing. There were no more bandits in sight.

"Uma, they're gone." She had to shout for Uma to hear her and Uma instantly brought the two horses pulling the carriage to a halt. The horses that were tied to the back almost ran into the carriage and protested by whinnying really loudly.

"I thought you said that they were gone?" Uma said.

"They are. Those are their horses that I caught." Lucy reassured.

Hisoka looked back and then nodded at Uma to confirm it. "Alright then." Uma said, calming down a little. Lucy say that Hisoka had a pair of reins in his hands that connected to the fifth horse. "Well, now that we have more horses, they can carry some of the weight and we can get out of here faster, but before we do so, we need to let them cool down." Uma said, looking around for some cover. Since the canyons were so tall, they provided a nice shady spot everywhere, but they needed to find a place where they were out of sight from other bandits that may be passing by.

They probably weren't going to find one. Lucy saw the dilemma as well. Despite her low magic supply, she called out Virgo. "Virgo, I summon thee." She said in a weak voice.

"Do you wish to punish me princess?" was the first thing out of her mouth.

"No. Could you please make a hidden cavern in the canyon so that we can all rest and be out of sight?" Lucy asked. She thought she was going to pass out soon.

"Yes princess." Virgo got right to work on the cave. Things started to disproportion themselves and before long, she saw the canyon ground coming up to meet her.

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><p>Things were terribly out of order. Everyone was standing on the ceiling, drinking their food and eating their drinks. Natsu was crying, Erza was cowering, Wendy and Mira were creating havoc ans starting fights. Master was wearing a nun's robe. "What's going on?" Lucy asked. Every head turned to her and they frowned.<p>

"Why are you here? Didn't you leave the guild?" Lisanna asked, coming up and putting an arm around her shoulders.

"I didn't leave, I'm going to come back after I get stronger." Lucy defended.

"Then where's your sign?" Erza asked, also coming up and putting an arm around her shoulders.

"Master hid it so that I could have access to other places that members of a guild aren't allowed." Where did that answer come from?

"We don't need people who give up their sign of Fairy Tail. We don't need you Lucy." Natsu said. Lucy stared at him as he walked up to her. Why did Natsu have to be the one to say something like that? Natsu's hand was then engulfed in fire and was shoved through her body. "We don't need you. You're useless to us and only hold us back. You just need to disappear Lucy." Natsu's voice was a twisted evil sound. Erza and Lisanna were choking her and stabbing her with swords and knives.

Lucy sat bolt right up. She was sweating bullets and breathing hard. Looking at her trembling hands, she brought one to her face and slapped herself. It was just a dream. A bad dream. It wasn't real. Fairy Tail didn't hate her and Master wasn't wearing a nun's robe.

"Lucy, you okay?" Uma's voice sounded behind her. Turning around, Lucy saw Uma and Hisoka eating some of the deer jerky they had made before entering the desert. "Lucy?"

"Y-yeah. Just had a bad dream, that's all." Lucy assured, getting to her feet and joining their little circle. "How long was I asleep?" Hisoka handed her a piece of the dried meat.

"About an hour, give or take a few minutes." Uma said. "You depleted your magic didn't you?"

What happened to beating around the bush? "Yeah. I can't summon more than one golden key at a time or else my magic drains almost instantly and I can't help myself very much either. When I was on a team, I always did the guarding, not the fighting. I would avoid fighting as much as possible because I suck at it."

"Don't do it again." Uma said. "You could kill yourself doing that."

"I'm sorry." Lucy lowered the piece of meat and hung her head.

"Don't you get all mopey on me. We still need to load the other horses with supplies and get out of here." Uma said, getting to her feet.

Lucy shoved the rest of the jerky into her mouth and followed Uma. It took some time to load things onto the horses, but they got it done within an hour. Lucy and Hisoka got to have their own horses to ride, thought they still carried something. They left right after noon. The ride was mostly silent because they didn't want to attract unnecessary attention, but Lucy sighted a thick, jungle-like forest before the sun starting setting.

"Yay, vegetation." Lucy cheered. Uma laughed and Hisoka smiled at her reaction. It was cooling down by the time they reached the forest edge. "It's so thick. How are we supposed to get through?" She asked, looking at the thickness of the trees and vines. The ground vegetation was thick too.

"Just watch." Uma said. "Open the way to my grandmother's cave and allow a humble traveler to be saved." Uma's voice echoed through the jungle and at first nothing happened, but then the trees began to creak and groan as they cleared a path and the plants on the ground crept out of the way to allow for the carriage to pass. Uma clicked and urged the horse forward onto the path. Hisoka followed after, looking around in excitement. Lucy followed behind the others and looked back when she heard the groaning of the trees again. They were closing up and returning to their original positions.

It was like a giant air bubble as they traveled through the forest. It would clear a path up front and close when they had all passed. Uma seemed to be used to the way the jungle was parting while Hisoka and Lucy looked all around in awe and astonishment. Then the forest stopped parting and before them stood an immense, tall, mossy tree. The roots look liked they had pushed the trunk of the tree from the soil into the sky. Through the roots, it looked like a maze without an end.

"This way." Uma said and went through the widest opening in the roots, then she stopped the carriage and got down form the driver's seat. "Here we are." She said, looking around and holding her arms out. "This is where I learned to use magic and this is where you will learn to use it the right way, both of you."

"Wow. It's huge." Lucy commented as she dismounted from her horse.

Uma held out her hand. Lucy looked at it blankly. "Give me your keys. You're not allowed to use them until you master the basics of magic. Hisoka, your staff too."

"Why?" They asked in unison.

"Because you'll never be able to use them properly anyway unless you learn the right way to use magic, as I said earlier." Uma said. "Now give." Lucy undid her belt and sild her key pouch off of it. Setting it in Uma's outstretched hand, she redid her belt and watched as Hisoka gave Uma his staff that I hadn't seen until now.

"We start first thing tomorrow morning. Right now, we unpack everything and let the horses rest. Hisoka, I'll show you where to put them later. Let's unload them first." Lucy began to undo the straps on her horse's pack and take everything off. When she had gotten it down to the leather, she was blank. What now? She'd never touched a horse in her life.

"Um, Uma, what do I do now?" She asked, looking over the horse's back at Uma who was setting the saddle of the horse she had unloaded on a root. She looked up at Lucy and frowned.

"You have to take off the saddle and reins girl. You're not done with the horse." Uma told her.

"But how do I do that?" Lucy asked, emphasizing the second 'do'.

Uma stared at the blonde and blinked. "You don't know how to unsaddle a horse?" Her voice had a tone of disbelief.

"Uh, no. I've never touched a horse before." Uma sighed and hobbled over with her cane at her side. Lucy still noticed how she never used it for a support like most old people did.

"Like this." Uma showed Lucy how to take off the saddle and reins and showed her how to hang them up.

By the time they finished unloading the carriage and put he horses away, it was nearly eleven. They finally laid down in real beds for the first time in a long month. Lucy was asleep within seconds and everybody else followed soon after.

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><p>Just a random fact, my dictionary didn't know <strong>mage<strong> was a word. Thanks again for your patience and sorry that it's late. Please review~ Thanks! ^/ . \^


	5. Training Begins

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>Thank you for so many reviews people! Here's chapter five, the beginning of Lucy's training! I hope you like it. Please review at the end. Thank you!<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 5- Training Begins<strong>

The blonde celestial mage wasn't woken up by the chirping of birds or the sound of rain, no she woke up when Uma threw water on her. It wasn't warm either. Lucy shot straight up and fell off the bed onto the dirt floor. She heard a small yelp and knew that Hisoka had gotten the same treatment. Lucy sat on her butt and rubbed her eyes. Looking around, she found Uma in the dim light. Confused, she looked closer at the light outside. It was just barely dawn. The sun hadn't even come up yet.

"Uma, it's not even dawn yet." Lucy complained, staying on the floor. Hisoka was standing beside his bed rubbing his eyes sleepily. He looked so adorably cute.

"I told you training starts first thing in the morning." Uma said, sounding amused.

"I didn't think you were serious." Lucy said, getting to her feet.

"Now you know that I don't joke when I say something. I always mean what I say." Uma turned and started heading out of the house of roots. "Follow me you two." Hisoka and Lucy followed Uma obediently out into the mini forest of roots. They walked past the horse alcove and stopped when they reached a tranquil pond. The water was clear and had water lilies growing around the edges. At the back was a waterfall with a giant rock at the bottom.

"Strip." Uma said and began to take off her own clothes.

"What?" Lucy asked. Maybe she was still half asleep.

"You heard what I said. Strip. Why can't you just be obedient like Hisoka?" Lucy glanced at Hisoka, but quickly looked away when she saw him begin to take off his pants. "Do I have to undress you myself?"

Lucy grabbed her clothes and gulped before she took off her shirt and pants. Uma had only her undergarments on and she began to wade out into the pond. Hisoka followed without question and Lucy tested the water. It was freezing.

"Come on Lucy, we don't have all day." Uma's voice sounded annoyed.

"But it's freezing." Lucy protested.

"It's your first lesson." Uma said.

"No breakfast?"

"You have to earn breakfast deary. Now get in here." Uma and Hisoka had reached the rock at the base of the waterfall and Uma sat directly under it. Lucy stepped into the pond and shivered, but forced herself to keep going. She didn't want to find out what Uma's bad side was like. Lucy could feel the cold reaching her bones and felt them creak even step she took. The water was up to her stomach now and she was shivering non-stop. Finally reaching the rock, she felt the splashes of cold water on her dry upper body and flinched away.

"Get up here Lucy." Uma said.

"I'm working on it." Lucy said through chattering teeth. She braced her arms on the water beaten boulder and hoisted herself onto the rock. The only sitting space available on the rock for everybody was under the waterfall, and that's where they all sat. Lucy wasn't the only one who thought it was cold, Hisoka was shivering just as much as she was and Uma couldn't hide it either.

"Uma, what's the point of this?" Lucy asked, teeth resonating.

"Don't talk. Just listen to the sounds of nature." she said, and she went still. Uma didn't even look like she was breathing. Lucy watched Uma and made an incredulous facial expression. How can Uma stand this temperature and not shiver? Lucy looked at Hisoka who was also looking at his grandmother oddly. Then Hisoka looked at the water flowing below him and, taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes. Feeling awkward, Lucy tried to copy them, but it was so cold. How was anyone able to not shiver?

Lucy's bones were aching she was so cold and it was beginning to really hurt. She couldn't focus on 'the sounds of nature' as Uma had so kindly put it. Wasn't this a jungle, and weren't jungles supposed to be extremely hot? Lucy waited and tried to sit still like Uma was, but the temperature of the water made the effort useless and she just gave up all together. It was absolutely impossible to focus on anything in the current situation. She had no idea how much time had passed when her body finally became numb to the cold water. Now that the water was no longer a problem, she closed her eyes and tried once more to complete her lesson, but the sound of the waterfall ended up lulling her to sleep.

As the sound of the falling water got quieter in her ears, Lucy began to hear other things that she normally would never have heard, such as the rustling of animals in the surrounding brush or the movement of fish as they ascended to the surface. It was a weird thing to hear, but she passed it off as a dream because it was an absurd thing to hear in reality, or so she thought. As she dozed, the celestial mage's body started to lean to one side until she startled Hisoka out of his trance-like state with a giant splash. Lucy shot to the surface coughing up the water that had gone down her throat and flailing her arms, blindly grabbing for the boulder so that she wouldn't drown herself. Hisoka tried to help her back onto the boulder and nearly fell in himself. When Lucy was finally back on the giant rock, Uma was looking at her and Hisoka with an amused expression.

"You're not supposed to fall asleep when meditating deary." She finally said.

Lucy struggled to sit up and look at the old woman. "When you're what?" She asked with a critical tone to her voice.

"Meditating. Meditation is the art of emptying one's mind and organizing one's thoughts so as to think better. It's something that all mages should know, but sadly, the mages of today never learned the proper way to use magic, so they never learned meditation."Uma then stood up and stretched. "Two hours of meditation every morning before breakfast from now on. That's how it's going to be dearies. Now it's time for breakfast." Uma dropped her body easily into the water and swam back to the shore with Lucy staring after her and Hisoka starting to follow her like a puppy.

Lucy scowled. "What does that have to do with listening to the sounds of nature?" she grumbled as she started towards the shore after Hisoka.

By the time Lucy was dried and dressed, Uma was done cooking breakfast. "Here you go. Tomorrow you'll both be hunting for your own food." The ex-celestial mage told the two as she handed them their stew.

"Hunting?" Lucy asked as she took a bite. The stew was hot and it burned her tongue, but she was so hungry that she didn't care at the moment, though she knew she would regret it later. "I don't know how to hunt." she said, taking in another mouthful of the hot meal.

"That's what I'm teaching you both today. You'll learn to wield a bow and dagger today. No magic is allowed to be used until I think that you're ready." Uma explained. "Now hurry up and eat, training starts in five minutes." Uma left the room as Lucy and Hisoka quickly finished off their breakfast.

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><p>Lucy glared at the arrow on the ground before her. Maybe it would explode if she glared at it hard enough. This was the third time that she had shot the thing and it never got any farther than five feet. She heard the '<em>twang<em>' of another bow and turned to glare at Hisoka who was firing them off like nothing. Lucy felt her eye twitch as she watched him shoot the next one and hit the target. None of his arrows hit the center mark, but they all hit the target. It was better than she could do, she couldn't even _hit_ the target. Of the three times she had tried shooting the bow, one had even ended up behind her, so it was really maddening to see someone much younger than her be able to shoot the wood and string contraption.

"Come on Lucy dear. Just pull the string and release the arrow after aiming." Uma said with much amusement in her voice.

"What do you think I've been_ trying_ to do this whole time?" Lucy demanded. She was not in a good mood anymore.

"Well first of all, you didn't string the bow right." Uma said, getting off the rock she had been sitting on to watch the two practice. Uma took the bow from the blonde and pointed at the string. "This is a recurve bow, not a long bow." The silver haired woman took the string off of the bow and handed them both back to the blonde. Lucy felt like breaking the bow in her hands, but thought better of it because Uma was there and God only knows what would happen if she broke it in front of Uma on purpose.

"How am I supposed to string it if I have to practically bend it in half to get the string on the other end?" Lucy asked, quite annoyed by the situation.

Uma shrugged her shoulders and Lucy could see she was trying not to laugh. "You figure that out yourself and try not to break the bow. If you do, you'll have to make yourself a new one." Then she went over to Hisoka and corrected his footing and his hold on his bow. When he shot the next arrow, he almost hit the center; it was the closest he'd been yet to the center of the target. Lucy wanted to strangle the poor kid. He'd never really talked to her or done anything to her, but he was younger than her and he was doing better than her and that was enough to make her want to strangle him.

Lucy closed her eyes and concentrated on happy, peaceful things, like a pond. No, nope not a pond. A pond reminded her of this morning's experience. Not at all peaceful, if anything, it made her angrier. The blonde tried to think of something that didn't involve water, but was peaceful and calming.

For a split second, Natsu's face flashed into her head and she snapped her eyes open. Why had she instantly thought of him? That idiot had agreed to replacing her with Lisanna, a girl that she didn't even know. In all her anger at Hisoka's skills, the pond, and Natsu and Lisanna, Lucy bent the bow so far back that she easily got the string over the other end and started shooting off the arrows at the target. She didn't even care that she was hitting the target now, Lucy just focused on he anger and pictured the target as the faces of her ex-teammates. When she did that, her anger quickly subsided and she lowered her bow, all out of arrows to shoot.

They might have betrayed her in a sense, but they were still nakama.

The celestial mage finally came out of her thoughts when she heard clapping to her right. She looked up to find Hisoka staring at her like she had gone crazy and Uma -who was standing next to him- clapping slowly with an approving look on her face.

"Now you just need to hit the center." Uma commented, looking at the target Lucy had shot at. Confused, Lucy looked at her target and found that all of her arrows were clustered neatly in the ring around the center eye. The blonde stared ,dumbfounded, at the target. There were only two arrows that had hit outside the perfect cluster.

Uma laughed at Lucy's expression. "Did you not look at what you were doing?" Lucy slowly nodded her head, still staring at the target. Hisoka never said anything, he just started walking toward his target to retrieve his arrows. Lucy looked at his target as she started toward hers and saw that he had three in the center and the rest were all spread around on the target. At least he'd hit the center.

When she tried pulling out the arrows, they wouldn't budge. Frowning, Lucy braced her foot on the target and pulled with both hands. The arrow gave suddenly and she stumbled back, falling on her butt. Rubbing her injured rear, she threw the arrow aside and stood up to get the next one. When she fell on her back again after the next arrow released, she stayed on the ground and sighed, frustrated.

"I don't want to be injuring myself every time I have to get one of these things." The blonde mage struggled to sit up and glared at the target, seeming to be fixated on it. Not wanting to do the work, she reached for her keys only to find that they weren't there. "Oh yeah." She grimaced.

Lucy started to ramble under her breath as she got up to pull the rest of the demons out of the target. Behind her, Uma watched with a worried expression, or was it confusion?

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><p>I hoped you liked it! The next chapter has more excitement in it in some ways, not so much in others. Thanks for reading! P~lease review~ Thanks again. ^ . \^


	6. Lucy's Resolve

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>You all have my sincerest apologies for not updating this last Sunday. I got back a little later than usual from my grandma's house and the computer was running extremely slow on Monday so I had to skip it. I also want to warn you that as the school year comes around, I won't update weekly because I have Advanced Placement classes, though I will try to update as often as I can. All updates will still be on Sunday or Monday. Thank you for your patience with me and thank you for all the reviews I've received from you. Here's the next chapter in Replaced and I hope you enjoy it. Please review or review again when you've finished reading! Thanks!<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 6- Lucy's Resolve<strong>

The blonde mage fell on her butt yet again and the dagger dropped out of her hands as it shocked her. This exercise was specially designed by Uma's previous trainer and frankly, Lucy was surprised that the magic still worked after the passing of Uma's trainer.

"Come on Lucy dear, you're not going to get anywhere if you don't learn how to use a simple weapon." Uma taunted. Lucy nearly glared at her teacher, but remembered at the last minute that she was the one who offered to train her despite already having a kid under her wing, so she settled for glaring at the magicked dummy before her. Every time that she didn't do the stab, jab, or whatever else the dummy told her to do correctly, the dagger would send an electric shock through her body that made her drop the weapon every time. Annoying, but effective in the ways of training.

Grabbing the weapon again, she got to her feet, wobbly from so many shocks, and went at the dummy again. This training continued on for another two hours before Uma said to quit. Lucy was all but electrocuted by then. She just couldn't adjust to these changes very well. Every time that she observed Hisoka, she tried to copy him, but it just wouldn't work. Now, Lucy sat back against the giant root and watched Hisoka as he finished up. She just couldn't see how he could be doing so much better than her when he was the younger one with less experience in fighting. It just didn't seem fair to her that he succeeded so well and she sucked at everything she did. Hisoka was so graceful and gentle looking with his moves and all, and she was sloppy and was always falling down.

Lucy just about slapped herself. She'd caught herself comparing herself to Hisoka again. He was just a kid -five years her junior- and she was feeling jealous because he was doing better than her. Hisoka was probably trying harder than she was which is why he was doing better than she was, so all she had to do was try harder. Lucy scowled and wanted to kick herself. She already _was_ trying as hard as she could, but that didn't seem to be doing her any good.

"Alright, now we're going to spend the next three hours in combat training." Uma announced cheerfully. She seemed to like the role of dungeon torturer. The blonde managed to muffle her groan with a coughing fit. "Don't be getting sick now Lucy, you still have to train even if you really do get sick." Uma's voice sounded overly buttered and her smile looked like that of a demon's. Lucy shivered at the look and thought that she saw Hisoka do the same.

Uma turned to the dummies and said something that Lucy couldn't quite understand and the wooden figures seemed to shut down because they went limp. The silver haired woman dragged the two dummies by their arms and put them back in the storage closest where they had been sitting since Uma's training days.

When she came back, her eyes had an excited glint in them and the two students unconsciously stepped back as she came at them. "Okay, let's start with karate then we'll move to taekwondo and aikido. Get over here both of you." Uma gestured them to move and they went and stood side by side in front of there trainer with only a few feet of space in between. She started going through the basic moves and they repeated. Each hour was spent on a different art of fighting and by the end of the three hours, the two were sore and tired out, even Uma looked a little out of it.

"Alright, it's back to the waterfall." the woman instructed, standing up straight and heading in the direction of the waterfall.

"What?" Lucy asked, disbelief coloring her tone as she struggled to lift her head to look at Uma.

"We'll be doing this before every meal Lucy dear. Trust me, it'll help you in the future when you get into a pinch." Uma didn't even turn her head to look at Lucy who nearly growled and threw a tantrum right there. What stopped her from doing so was Hisoka who slowly walked by, still breathing hard from the last exercise. Here she was, a teenager who was almost a full adult complaining and whining while a boy who wasn't even thirteen took the pain without complaint. It was disgraceful for her to throw a childish tantrum in front of a boy who was acting more grown up than she was.

Grinding her teeth together and mumbling profanities to herself, she pushed her noodle-muscled body to its feet and followed after the crazy family -who she had dubbed by now as a sadist and a masochist.

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><p>The celestial mage heard the swish of the fish as it swam by and the roar of the waterfall before she went under -again. This was the fifth time she'd fallen in within the first twenty minutes of meditation and she was getting agitated.<p>

_Why aren't they falling in?_ She thought as she surfaced again and glared at their calm and blank faces. They didn't even break their meditation anymore to look and she if she was okay. Lucy turned her back on them and sank to the bottom of the pond. Crossing her arms, she closed her eyes and thought about why see was doing this again.

_Square one, I was replaced because Lisanna came back and I'm weak so if I get stronger then maybe they'll let me back. Sounds like the plan. That's why I'm here, to get stronger so that I can earn my place with my friends. _Lucy thought, and she opened her eyes. _**If they can be called friends anymore.**_ Something nagged at the back of her mind. She pushed it away and shot to the surface to breathe, then submerged herself again to get her hair out of her face before crawling onto the boulder under the waterfall again.

Lucy breathed deeply before emptying her mind of its thoughts for the sixth time and listening for whatever sounds came to her ears.

Five more dunks later, she came up and this time met Uma's amused stare. The older woman had her chin in one hand that was propped up on her knee. "You suck at meditation Lucy dear. I wonder why. It's the easiest exercise of your training." She looked genuinely confused now. Lucy didn't trust it.

"Is the hour over?" The blonde asked, the irritation carefully sugar coated and topped with an overly friendly smile.

"Yes," Uma said it like it was some sad fact. "Yes it is. Time to eat." She smoothly slid into the water -warmed by the heat of the day- and swam gracefully to the shore. Lucy didn't wait for Hisoka to pass her this time to get out of the water. When she got onto solid ground, she grabbed her clothes and stalked after Uma, not bothering to dress.

Hisoka shook out his onyx hair as he grabbed his clothes and smiled as he watched his blonde training partner. She was amusing in her own way and already so much different from when they started this journey. How much more was she going to change when this was all over? He smiled again when he remembered last night and how much she talked. Man that girl could talk when she's asleep. She almost reminded him of how his mother used to be, talkative and very temperamental, but passionate and devoted. He saw how Lucy tried as hard as she could to keep up with him and he guessed that he'd set the pace for her.

When he reached the house of roots, he smelled the stew from this morning. Leftovers. Lucy was dressed now and so was Uma. Having dressed when he got out of the pond, he sat across the small table from Lucy and stared at his grandmother as she served the food. Half the day was gone and already he was sore. There was still at least nine hours left of training -if he knew his grandmother well enough- and that didn't include the meditation hour. He heaved an exhausted sigh before picking up his chopsticks and eating the chunky parts of the stew.

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><p>Lucy fell asleep as soon as her head hit the folded cloak that acted as her pillow. Uma had put them through a repeat of the morning, only switching up the martial arts to Judo, Daido Juku, and Jujutsu. To her, there wasn't really a difference, it was all just close combat self defense kind of fighting- all of them were variations of karate. She even threw in some Ninjutsu -the art of strategy and tactics of unconventional warfare/ guerrilla warfare. It was like she was preparing them for a war or something. Right now though, the tired blonde could care less about what Uma was training them for, she just wanted to sleep and sleep she did.

Hisoka watched her, amused, as she fell into the bed and went straight to sleep. He himself was tired as hell, but it was just so funny watching the blonde doing simple things. It brightened the morale in his life after the sudden death of his parents. He smiled tiredly and yawned before pulling the thin blanket over his aching body and promptly falling asleep.

Uma sat in her rocking chair sharpening some of the weapons and watching the two trainees. She was concerned with the blonde's performance in archery this morning. Lucy had given off an aura, a red one. Red was anger. Things fueled with anger made one more powerful, yes, but it also hindered one's ability to judge correctly and make the proper approach in a fight. It was something that Uma discouraged heavily upon her students and others.

She'd had three other students in the past, and they were all dead from what she'd gotten word of. They had all died in action. Sad, but at least they died defending what they loved. The only thing wrong with the way they died is that they had given in to the anger and lost their ability to make a proper decision. In turn, they lost their lives. She didn't want that to happen to Lucy, or Hisoka for that matter. It was something that she would always fear no matter what anyone said. Anger was an easy thing to give in to and that was the end of it. After watching Lucy today, Uma was going to keep a closer eye on her. She didn't want to lose another student to the same thing again.

Setting down the sharpened daggers that had been used that day, she yawned and got up. Even she was tired out from the day's exercises. Ever since that accident, she hadn't really done the exercises much. Uma'd done them every once in a while, but not as often as she should have. This training would be good for her too. With the daggers sharpened for the morning, she walked over to her bed and crawled in, falling asleep soon after.

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><p>This time, things weren't out of order. The ground was where it was supposed to be, but this wasn't the guild. It was an unknown place that Lucy had never been to. It was cold and really dark. The giant window on one side of the room -partially hidden by immense red velvet curtains- showed that it was night outside and raining fairly hard. Lucy could hear the thunder, but no lightning was visible yet. At the end of the room was a giant fire place where two people stood. Because the room was so dark and she was so far away, she couldn't really see the facial features of the two men, but when they began speaking, she froze.<p>

"So here's the proposition sir," Started the first one. He was taller and worn -what looked like- a giant hat. His voice was slick and full of a darkness that was hard to describe. Lucy knew that voice quite well, so why couldn't she remember who it belonged to? "If you gather your subordinates by the end of next June, and I do my part of what I just explained, we'll march out to Fairy Tail and destroy them." The tall man seemed to smile at the last part. Lucy knew because she saw the white flash of his teeth.

As the next man started to talk, she moved forward and found that there was a fairly long table in the room. A meeting room or the dining room of some sort, but why it wasn't lit was beyond her understanding.

"I realize that we have a similar objective, but I don't think that simply invading the guild will work. It's too straight forward, and the Fairy Trash is good at handling straight forward if you haven't notice from your previous failure." The man's tone was mocking and he grinned -showing fangs- when the other man hissed threateningly.

"We need to take a more subtle approach to them. Get a spy in there or have someone spy on them from a distance. Frankly, I don't care about the whole bowl of Fairies, I just want one in particular."

Lucy shivered when she saw him lick his lips. Was his tongue forked? She continued to edge along the table towards the two men.

"Well you can have whoever you want, I myself want to kill one personally, but it'd be better to take out the whole lot of them otherwise they'll hunt us down till we're dead and I would like to have at least some luxury time in my old age." The man's face was turned down into a sneer.

"So what you want. I just want the one fairy. I'll get my subordinates rounded up and then we'll talk strategy." The man turned and Lucy gasped. She knew those slitted eyes, had seen them before, but she couldn't connect a name to it. It right on the tip of her tongue, she knew, but it wasn't coming out.

The other man then turned to face her for the first time, but he was addressing the other man. "Fine then. We'll talk strategy later." Lucy was frozen solid in horror. She would never be able to forget that man's face. Not in a hundred years.

Lucy woke up suddenly and found herself on the dirt floor. Her hair was plastered to her forehead and she felt sticky everywhere. Rolling onto her back, she sucked in the air that she hadn't known she wasn't getting before and flopped back onto the ground. The blonde looked around and found that there wasn't any light showing like the previous morning which meant that it wasn't yet time to get up. Lucy almost groaned, but remembered at the last minute that other people were sleeping.

For the moment, she lay on the ground and listened as her breathing returned to normal. Why was she dreaming of someone so horrible? _Was that even a dream?_ It didn't seem like one at all. Everything was too real to be a dream. For a moment, Lucy closed her eyes to get her bearings then rolled back over and hoisted herself up. She felt the screaming of her sore muscles as they protested her movements. They hurt so much more than yesterday -as was expected.

Walking over to her suitcase, she got out some dry, clean clothes and made her way over to the evil pond, as she now called it. Stripping down, she plunged in, completely forgetting how cold the water was in the morning. She yelped as she came up shivering.

"S-st-standing h-here is-sn't go-oing t-to help m-me get a-an-ny num-mber." she chattered out loud, and she dove back in. Swimming along the bottom, she looked at everything that passed her and all around the pond. There wasn't much seaweed, but there was quite a few fish, more so than one would expect to find in a pond. Strange, but then again this whole place was strange.

When she finally got out, it was still dark and just as she put on her under garments, she glanced over at the boulder under the waterfall. After a minute of deliberation, she waded back into the water and swam to the confounded spot. At first, she tried meditating like Uma had showed her the first time and she ended up falling into the pond, like she always seemed to do. So this time, she pushed her body under the waterfall completely and closed her eyes. Since she couldn't breathe through her nose, she used her mouth and she cleared her mind.

The sound of the waterfall was roaring and she pushed the sound away until it was nothing but soft background music. This time, she wasn't interrupted by almost drowning, she listened to the sounds around her and seemed to hear everything. A bird pecked at a tree quite far away. A snake slithered through the ferns; bugs ate away at the tree roots, making their homes. It was all so new and unreal. Lucy listened more, this time concentrating a little harder and thinking of nothing. Her ears let the sounds of nature come to her and she didn't know how long she stayed there listening to everything, but she was rudely shaken out of her meditation -she thought- all too soon.

As she opened her eyes, she found them heavy, like something had been pulling on them for a long time to make them weigh so much. It was a strange feeling, but she forced them open all the same. The first thing she saw was Uma's worried expression and a dull grey. Lucy could see Uma's lips moving, but she couldn't hear anything coming out of it because her ears were roaring. The blonde clamped her hands over her ears and rubbed them, trying to get the sound to stop, but it didn't get any duller. If anything it put more pressure on her eardrums and it felt like they were going to explode.

She didn't see Uma put her hands on either side of her head and magic circles appear. Lucy only saw the movement of her teacher's mouth and then the pain was gone. There was no more roaring or pressure in her ears. She blinked and she slowly removed her hands from her ears, ready to put them back on if the roaring came back. It didn't. When she started to sit up, she felt a sharp pain twist in her stomach and she turned quickly to empty out the contents of her stomach which mostly consisted of the bitter taste of bile.

"Lucy. . .?" The blonde felt Uma's hand rest at the small of her back and rub small circles in it.

"I'm fine." Lucy said when she finished, wiping her mouth. Uma handed her a water canteen. She washed out her mouth and then took a small drink, knowing better than to gulp a lot of water.

"When you're meditating, especially in this pool, you can't lose yourself or else you'll end up like the rest of them." Lucy followed Uma's gaze and noticed, for the first time, that she was behind the waterfall in a cave. What Uma was looking at was hideous. There were at least a dozen stone statues of what used to be humans. Their features were messed up with some kind of plant or animal that was part of their stone complexion. Hideous.

"What is that?" Lucy heard herself mutter. Uma stood up straight, not looking at Lucy, but continuing to stare at the stones.

"_That_ is what happens when you lose yourself in **Za Numa Za Rosuto**. _The Pond of The Lost. _This isn't an ordinary pond Lucy. It has taken the lives of many because they loses themselves." Uma smiled bitterly. "You could say that it's been tainted by the demonic magic of the world because people have been using alternate ways instead of the rightful and original way. Magic is not just an object of power. It's alive. Whenever someone becomes lost, their soul will inevitably come here and their body will follow soon after. _Never_ meditate more than an hour."

Uma then turned to her suddenly and grabbed her by the shoulders. The look in Uma's face was frightening, not because it was scary looking, but because one would never expect to see such an expression on Uma. Fear and something hidden under that. "Lucy, if you ever find someone who you can't find, don't let them out of your sight because they've probably become lost." Uma now looked like she was in pain. Mental pain.

Lucy didn't now what to do so she settled with wrapping her arms around her teacher. "I promise not to let them out of my sight Uma." Though she had no idea what Uma had meant. How were you supposed to find someone you couldn't find? That thought was better left for a rainy day. Her answer seemed to give the older woman peace of mind because she pulled away from Lucy and stood up straight agin, holing her hand out for Lucy.

"Let's get out of here. Can you stand?" She asked as Lucy took her outstretched hand. It was warm and slightly callused. The hands of a housewife, though Uma was hardly that.

When they got back to the root house, Hisoka was still asleep and Lucy noticed that it wasn't quite as dark anymore, but still not time to wake up.

Now that they were off the touchy subject, Lucy debated on another one that had been nagging at her since archery practice the previous day. "What's going through your head Lucy dear?" the older woman asked as she gave Lucy an herbal remedy for her stomach and then sat down herself.

"It's not really that important to you but it's been bugging me ever since we started training." Lucy frowned into her cup, thinking again.

"What's been bugging you?" Uma said finally, breaking through the blonde's thoughts.

"It's just that I've noticed that I suck at everything. Hisoka can do everything so, so _well_ and me, I can't do anything at all. I can't even meditate right." She brought the cup to her lips and took a sip. It was tasteless at first, but then the aftertaste came and she almost gagged.

"I know it doesn't taste all that great, but it'll help." Uma said with a small smile.

"Uh huh." Was all she could manage to say at that point. When she got the taste out, or most of it out, she continued. "I don't know what to _do_. I try to keep up with him, but he's just so _good_ and he's younger than me, which makes me feel even more insignificant."

Uma could almost see the cloud of depression coming over Lucy's head to rain on her, and she laughed. Lucy looked up, surprised and frustrated, almost embarrassed.

"Let me tell you something Lucy. Some people are born to know weapons. Sometimes it's one weapon in particular. Hisoka's parents were weapon specialists, so it's natural for him to know how to handle weapons." She watched as Lucy took a full gulp of the remedy and wanted to laugh at her expression, but kept it controlled. "Other people _learn_ to use weapons."

"But how do I _do_ that?" Lucy asked and finished the cup of awfulness.

"You use every second of time you can spare. Keep practicing until it becomes mechanical. That's the only way you'll ever learn to do something. That's how I learned. I never had any free time because I used it to practice." Lucy said nothing as she stared at something behind the woman. Then there was a fiery determination in her eyes and the cloud disappeared.

She stood up and focused on Uma. "Thanks Uma." and she disappeared outside.

Uma shook her head as she set down her mug. "Your welcome."

* * *

><p><strong>OF<strong> ISN'T A WORD IN JAPANESE!- Random fact of the day.

This chapter is the longest I've written so far I think. I went from it being too short to too long. I think longer is better. I've caught up with the pre-written chapters. I've tried to stay at least one chapter ahead, but I've been a little preoccupied with the school preparations and the fair, and my books. Sorry, I love my Tamora Pierce books with a passion.

You all should thank her by the way! Her work got me to start writing!

Thank you for reading! Please review! ^/ . \^


	7. Hunting Trip

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>Yes! I got it done today! I finished the chapter. I didn't think I was going to. Sorry that it took so long. School started Tuesday and I've already written an essay. I tried last weekend to bring my story on a thumb-drive to my grandma's house so that I could work on it, but then I found out that her computer is old enough to not know what a thumb-drive is, so it didn't have an input for it. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews! I've never had so many. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter and review again at the end! Thanks!<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 7- Hunting Trip<strong>

The ground was soft from an early morning dew, which made it easier to find some fresh tracks. Lucy may not have been good at hunting, but she knew a thing or two about tracking. She wasn't an expert at it, but she didn't completely suck either. She'd had to navigate somehow when she was running away from home. The blonde celestial mage looked up to the heavens and saw that it was getting even lighter than when she started. Her stomach growled and she nearly glared at it. If it sounded like that the whole time, how was she supposed to catch anything? Uma hadn't given either of them anything but a bow, a dagger and some basic medical bandages with ointment. Lucy scowled as she remembered Uma setting them off into the wild.

**Flashback~**

_Hisoka was up as soon as the water was poured on him and he, as usual, didn't complain. They found her in the archery court practicing the bow. She'd only hit the center once, they rest were on the outside circle, almost like the previous day._

"_Lucy," Uma shouted. "Time for your hunting lesson." The older woman was grinning, nothing like the half frightened woman from only an hour earlier. Packing up her arrows and the bow, she followed Uma to the equipment room where she'd gotten the bow and ammo. The two students stood back while their teacher went through drawers and cases looking for things that they were going to take with them. _

_Uma handed Hisoka a bow and quiver. After testing the wood's flexibility, Hisoka seemed to nod and accept the bow. They both got a medical pouch from Uma's choosing, which they automatically strapped to their belts, and she gave them both similar looking daggers, also strapped automatically to their belts. _

"_I will give you both a word of caution before I unleash you two into the wild." Uma ignored the rolling of Lucy's eyes and went on. "Don't go into the local village. If you do you may not ever be coming out again. Oh, and be as careful of the plant life as you are of the wildlife. Just because it looks harmless, doesn't mean it is. Everything in this forest has its own personality. One last word before I go, what's up may come down before you find anything on the ground." And with that, Uma turned and left them both in the weapons room. _

_The blonde mage looked first at the doorway where her teacher had disappeared from view, and then at her hunting partner, who was no longer there. Her eye twitched._

**Flashback Ends~**

So Uma was an evil teacher that liked training- on- the- job and her training partner abandoned her to hunt alone. With the skills he had, Hisoka was probably done hunting already and either heading back to the giant tree house or already there. Her stomach reminded her how hungry she was right then by allowing a massive growl to escape. She groaned and pushed through the plant life to get to the other side where she was hoping to find some kind of animal. Her luck had it when she did reach the other side and found nothing. Glaring at the empty space, Lucy sat down and thought up some plans.

They weren't very good plans mind you, but they were plans. Perhaps digging a pit would catch her something? Lucy thought back to the last time she used a pit and blanched. The enemy she had been trying to trap had come by air and not by ground. Then it hit her, what Uma had said:_ "What's up may come down before you find anything on the ground." _ What did that mean? It was a strange thing to say when you're going out to hunt.

"What's up may come down before you find anything on the ground." She said slowly. "What's up," Lucy looked up. "May come down," She kept looking up into the trees until she saw something. It was huge, bigger than she was, and it was looking straight at her. Lucy could see the whip-like tail lash back and forth in anticipation. It cocked it's head to the side when she spotted it. "Before you find anything on the ground." She finished in a whisper.

Lucy started backing up when the thing started moving down the tree it was perched on, Stringing her bow in the process, she came up against a tree. Panicking, Lucy quickly notched and arrow to her bow and swung it up to face the giant creature whose giant gold eyes were staring at her not a foot away. She froze. This creature, whatever it was, was nothing but curious. It cocked its head from one side to the other, examining her carefully but not doing anything other than that.

The animal had the body of a lizard and was covered in brightly colored scales that looked more like tiny beads. The only things that made the thing not a lizard -despite its impossibly big size- was the two long and very distinctive mounds placed on its back between its shoulders and a tail that looked like it had a nasty barb at its tip. Without really moving the position of its head, the lizard dropped its body to the ground and continued its inspection of her.

When it couldn't get a look at what was behind her, it looked like it scowled and opened its mouth. A high pitched note sounded and Lucy was suddenly ten feet to the left of where she had been standing, still poised to shoot. Her body then unfroze and Lucy looked around for the giant lizard only to find it by the tree she had been backed up against. It was shuffling through the base of it, tearing at roots to get at something. So it hadn't been examining her, just trying to get around her.

After pulling up a giant root about as thick as Lucy's leg, it stopped its rummaging and stuck its head into the hole. When it backed up, awkwardly, it had in its jaws a smaller version of itself, the only difference is that its tail had an enormous bulge instead of a barb. The baby lizard wiggled in its mom's grip as she started climbing up the tree again. When she trilled something, the baby stopped moving.

Okay so the animals in this forest lived in its upper canopies, not on the ground or if there were some on the ground, they weren't showing themselves. Her neck was going to give out before she could even find something to eat. If all the game was up in the trees, then that meant that she had to get up into the trees too. This was their forest, and she had to live on their terms. Lucy started to reach for a thick vine that led all the way up into the thick canopy overhead, then stop when it twitched. _"Everything in this forest has its own personality."_ Uma's voice echoed in her head. A small part of Lucy's mind noted that Uma's words have saved her more than once within the past few hours.

Lucy withdrew her hand an faced the vine with a formal posture. "Will you permit me to climb into the upper canopy using your assistance? I would very much appreciate it if you would and I will understand if you refuse my request." She felt silly talking to a vine, but if what Uma said was true. . . The vine seemed to ponder the thought for a second before it leaned towards her, as if it were offering a hand. The celestial mage hesitated at first but then laid her hand on the vine. The second she did so, it twirled down her arm and around her body, trapping her and she felt herself being lifted from the ground. She couldn't breathe as the thing tightened its grip on her and then she felt her feet contact something sturdy and the vine loosen itself around her.

Only when she got her breath back did she realize the vine had lifted her into the upper canopy. "Thank you for your kindness. I am grateful for your act of hospitality." Lucy said to the retracting vine, it seemed to wave, wiggling its entire length. Later, she would lie in bed and think that it's strange that a vine had responded to her talking to it. Now, she looked at her surroundings, taking everything in. It was so much greener up here and there seemed to be more life in the canopy than on the ground.

Leaning forward, she nearly fell and she used the trunk of the tree to steady herself. When she laid both hands on its surface, she felt a jolt of energy go through her and the surge made her weak-kneed because of how powerful it was. It was like the tree was breathing. She turned her head to stare at the moss-covered bark where her hands were placed. Sudden realization hit her and she stumbled back, almost falling off the thick branch she was placed on.

"I'm so sorry for not addressing you properly. I wasn't thinking." She scrambled to her feet and bowed. "My name is Lucy Heartphilia and I'm terribly sorry for not asking acceptance onto yourself, but I am hunting for a meal an hoped to not both you too long. I hope that you will allow me to climb your heights to hunt for food." She waited, head still bowed in apology. Another surge of energy rumbled through her body, this one approving. Lucy couldn't keep the sweat from her face. These trees were scary. Not only were they thousands of years old, they were intelligent and powerful and she knew it as did they. "My greatest thanks to you noble sir."

The tree's whole being shook and she nearly fell from her perch on its branch. It was laughing. When it was still once more, the blonde stood, carefully, strapped her bow to her back again, and started to climb. There wasn't much where she was and she wanted to get off this tree.

* * *

><p>Really, where were all the animals? There were no rabbits or other small game anywhere, and Hisoka had some experience with hunting. This wasn't normal. Maybe Uma forgot to say that game was scarce? No, Uma wasn't one to forget something like that easily. The onyx haired boy found a tree (which wasn't that hard to find) and settled underneath it to try and think. "So the animals are missing and my grandmother likes riddles. What the hell did she mean by that? '<em>What's up may come down before you find anything on the ground.' <em>What am I supposed to make of that? I hate word puzzles." Hisoka ranted calmly. "I need to clear my head." They hadn't done the morning meditation that day, so his head wasn't as clear as it had been the day before. Now, he leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes with his hands lying limp in his lap.

He pushed all the thoughts from his head into the corner of his mind where they wouldn't disturb him and then focused on the long, deep breaths. When they were constant and paced, he pushed them away as well so that he could listen to the area and its inhabitants. It was quite relaxing, and he really couldn't see how Lucy had such a hard time with it. He could feel the breeze sliding through his hair like water and hear it whisper in his ear. _Trees. . . up. . . animals. . . _

Startled at the voice that had sounded like a person was whispering it in his ears, he came out of his meditation with a yelp and looked around frantically, looking for the speaker. When he saw no one, he looked at the ground and found no footprints other than his own, then he looked up. He caught a glimpse of something retreating into the shadows; it wasn't human. Hisoka stayed completely still and watched the place where the creature had disappeared for a long minute before he cautiously went back into his meditation.

Hisoka listened again to his surroundings and listened hard. In order to hear nature, he had to become nature. The wind whispered to him again, this time he didn't come out of his meditation, but listened to what it had to say. Uma did say the forest had personality or something like that. _Animals. . . trees. . . home. . . live. . ._

_What? _Hisoka thought at it, whatever _it_ was.

_You. . . animals. . . right?_

_I'm looking for them, yes. Where are they?_

_Trees. . . live. . ._

_They live in the trees?_

_Trees. . . yes. . ._

_Thank you? _He thought it more as a question than a statement.

There was no reply.

Hisoka came out of his meditation and looked up into the dense thickness of the trees overhead. It _looked_ like there could be big animals living up in that thick greenery. The forest knew best, why not follow its advise. He grabbed a nearby vine and started to climb up the side of the tree.

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><p>Lucy was pressed against the trunk of the tree with nowhere to go. The blonde teen was paler than usual, the reason: there was a giant lizard in front of her with a brightly colored beaded hide. She suspected it was the same one from earlier, but what did it want from her? She hadn't done anything, had she? The lizard creature whipped its tail to one side, then the other as it looked her over. Lucy had no idea what to do. The arrows she had probably wouldn't pierce it's hide and the dagger would most likely have the same effect.<p>

The lizard took a step forward and gripped the thick branch in its silver clawed foot to get a better look at her. So maybe it was curious about her after all? "U-um. . . h-hel-llo."

It just cocked its head to the side and flicked out its purple tongue, tasting the air, or Lucy. She wasn't sure which. It took another step and Lucy wished desperately that she could just melt into the tree at her back. Suddenly, there was an ear piercing screech from overhead and the lizard's head snapped up and to the left. It hissed as it tried to back up with not much success. Lucy couldn't move to see what it was, but what exactly happened next she couldn't quite remember. One moment the lizard was there trying to back up and the next it was gone in a flash of blue, green, and purple. The giant bird was carrying the lizard away in its giant silver claws with the lizard twisting an turning, trying to get so that it could sink its teeth into the thing, but the bird's grip was tight.

Lucy was about to relax, now that she was no longer in danger, but then she remembered the smaller lizard and froze. Who would take care of it if the mother died? It was still a baby. Lucy stood up slowly, her legs still shaky from before. Her head snapped up when she heard the screech again. It was coming back the way it came. Lucy made a snap decision and without thinking, swung her bow up with an arrow to the string and loosed.

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><p>How's that for suspense? I probably could have done a better job, but I really wanted to get this in today. Rushing isn't good for the mind, it only stresses it out more and makes it hard to think. it takes me hours to type these things because I'm always thinking about what to do and how it will affect the future in the story. I have a pretty good idea of where it's going already though so no need to worry that I might stop halfway through like some other people I know. Thanks for reading! Please review! ^ . \^


	8. Missions

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>Yay! I got it done in a week! It's a little shorter than the others and hopefully it will never be this short again. I just couldn't fit all that much more exciting stuff into this chapter. I promise that the next chapter won't be this short. Please review when you've finished reading and thank you for doing so.<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 8- Missions<strong>

"Natsu! Quit pacing! You're wearing a hole in the floor!" Cana yelled as she slammed down her barrel of booze. "You're making the liquor taste bad."

The pink haired boy didn't seem to hear and kept on pacing in his little groove on the floor. The floor actually _was_ worn down an inch or so from weeks of pacing in the same place. There were grayish circles around his eyes that showed how much sleep he was getting. Normally, Erza would have done something by now, but she was in her own little corner eating slice after slice of strawberry cake wondering -hoping- that Lucy would walk through those doors at any moment. They knew that the longest mission that Lucy had taken by herself was no more than two weeks tops and she had never once taken one longer than that, so why did she go off by herself on a mission that only Makarov knew how long it was?

It didn't make sense. Someone must have kidnapped her or something right? Maybe Jose kidnapped her again. No Jose wasn't in a guild anymore, not a legal one anyway, So what happened to her? Erza stuffed the last piece of strawberry cake in her mouth and then slammed down the fork on the table, accidentally embedding it in the wooden table. "Master Makarov, I demand that you tell us where Lucy went. She could have been kidnapped or worse, killed." Erza stood up and planted herself in front of the Master. "Where is she?" she was all seriousness and on the edge of insanity.

"She won't be back for a while kids. The mission that she took lasts at least a year at minimum, so quite fretting and pick a mission for yourselves to pass the time and earn some money." Makarov said matter-of-factly and took in a big gulp from his tankard. He looked at the bottom of the empty glass and scowled. "Another glass if you please Mira-chan." He held out his tankard.

"She could have at least waited for one of us to come back and go with her." Erza growled.

Makarov fixed her with his scowl. "Weren't you the ones who told her to go solo?" He managed to keep his voice even.

Erza went silent and looked down at the floor with her fists tightly clenched. It_ had_ been their fault that she took a mission alone and she wondered if she was the only one regretting replacing her. Finally, she went to the mission board and looked them over, then went up the stairs and looked at the S-class missions. There was one there that lasted six months and the others lasted a year or more, so she chose the six month one and went back down stairs.

"Give me this so I can 'pass the time." Erza growled. She didn't like being told what to do, but she really did need to get her mind off Lucy. The scarlet haired mage looked over at Gray who was sitting across the table from Cana looking at her and then looked at Natsu who had stopped pacing to look at her. "I'm going with or without you. I don't care." She then turned and walked out with the mission paper Makarov had signed.

"Natsu, Gray, you can't go with her anyway because it's an S-class, but you should still get a job to get your mind off Lucy." Makarov suggested as Mira gave back a full tankard. Natsu glanced at the mission board then back at the doors that Erza had just exited. After a long minute, he gave an exasperated sigh and walked over to the board. Natsu wasn't looking for long jobs, just hard ones so that he'd have to think about something other than Lucy. He grabbed one and had Makarov sign it, then left without a word. "Gray?" Everyone turned an eye to the ice mage who was already standing up to go to the mission board.

Gray's eyes didn't even really see the jobs, just the places and he picked the one that was farthest away. He took it from the board and brought it over to Makarov who signed it. When he gave it back, Gray looked at him directly in the eye and asked, "Did Lucy really take a job that long?"

Makarov stared back at the mage, his eyes as hard as hematite. "Yes, she did." and added silently, It's just her personal mission that she's gone on.

The ice mage looked for something in the guild master's eyes and didn't appear to find what he was looking for, so he sighed in exasperation and left without his shirt. Mira held it up and gave a sigh of her own then shook her head and folded the garment over her arm. "Master, is Lucy-chan going to be alright? She's never done anything like this before and I have to admit, I'm a little worried."

"We all are." Levy put in. "I've known Lucy for a while now and this is something that's a little. . ." Levy struggled to find a word.

"It's just not her." Cana finished.

The Master sighed and rubbed his temples. "What do you want me to do about it?" This happened almost everyday. _Someone_ would bring up the Lucy subject.

"At least tell us where she went." Mira demanded. Master stared at her. Mira never demanded anything.

"I can't do that."

"Why not?" Levy asked, impatient and irate.

"Because I don't even know where she is." With that, Makarov hopped off the table and headed up the stairs.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mira yelled after him. Makarov didn't answer, but shut his door behind him. "You're supposed to know where your children are Master!" Mira started crying, whether from anger or hurt, she didn't know which.

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><p>The scarlet haired mage shoved the last of her armor into one of the many suitcases and shut it forcefully. Why would Lucy, of all people, take a job that lasts an entire year and not tell her friends about it? She didn't take anybody with her at all either. Lucy couldn't take a job like that and finish it herself. Year-long jobs were normally the most dangerous jobs to take because they mostly required fighting. Erza was so busy thinking of how much danger Lucy might be in that she didn't stop to think about the fact that year-long jobs were always put on the S-class job board, not the normal one.<p>

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><p>The Salamander walked down the street towards his apartment, unaware that he was giving out an intense heat wave that caused others on the same street to give him a wide berth. It was rare that the dragon slayer was ever mad enough to lose control over his power even a little. Where that hell did Lucy go? Why didn't she tell anybody that she was going? Why didn't she tell him?<p>

'_We want to have Lisanna in our group again.' 'And if you go solo, you can get stronger.'_ Natsu remembered the expression in her eyes that made her look like she was going to cry and that smile that didn't reach her eyes. He ground his teeth and clenched his hands into tight fists. It had been their fault that Lucy went out alone. They'd dismissed her and replaced her with Lisanna. The pink haired dragon slayer cursed and mentally kicked himself. If Lucy died, it would be their fault.

Something crinkled in his hand and when Natsu looked at it, he found that it was the job he took. A village near the boarder needed to exterminate an over population of bandits and thieves. He'd already signed up to do it, so he couldn't just abandon it. Natsu closed his fist around it again and looked at the road ahead. After he finished the job request, he would go after Lucy, but to do that, he needed a focus, something with her scent. Natsu turned around and headed back the way he came, towards Lucy's apartment building.

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><p>All the ice mage had to pack was extra clothes and some money and he was on his way to the boarder. He left Fairy Tail Housing looking at the job request paper. The job was to simply help the town build a fortress to protect themselves. That would be easy enough, but he didn't want to go back to the guild so soon after he finished. There was no time listed on the sheet, so they didn't know how long it would take to build the fortress. It worked perfectly for him. Since there was no time limit, he could finish and leave to look for Lucy without having the guild go at him for involving himself in another's job. It was perfect. There was no way he would leave Lucy to fight by herself.<p>

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><p>The smell hit him like a brick wall. Lucy's unique scent of vanilla and strawberries filled his nose ane enveloped his body. The smell was weak because Lucy hadn't been there for an entire month, but it still lingered as a permanent attachment to the room. Natsu looked around the room and found it neat and tidy. The bed was made with the coverlet folded at the end of it, the desk was orderly with a stack of papers in the center and an ink pen set vertically beside it. Lucy's book. The floor was clean except for a thin coat of dust. Just the way it always was.<p>

The Salamander entered the room and went over everything he remembered about it. Why had they dismissed her? Something caught his eye on the pages laying on the desk. Curious, he walked closer and leaned over it. Scanning the first line, he now picked it up and continued reading. He flipped the page and read on in astonishment. Was this really what Lucy was thinking? Natsu skipped several thirty pages in and stopped when a single sentence caught him. He felt something wet on his face and the words on the page kept jumping all over the place. When he dropped the book, he realized that he was shaking. What the hell had he done?

He backed up, staring in horror and astonishment at what he'd done. When he tripped over the shaggy carpet, he stumbled and bolted out the door, forgetting the reason that he went to Lucy's house in the first place. He had screwed up. This was probably the biggest mistake that he had ever made in his life. Dismissing Lucy was the absolute worst possible thing he could have done to her. Mistakes could not be easily fixed, and he had made a big one. Natsu had to find Lucy and bring her back before anything bad happened.

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><p>Erza sat alone on the train, deep in thought. Lucy was still on her mind. It just didn't make sense for Lucy to go off on her own. She wasn't strong enough to fight alone. The blonde mage did better in a group. When they'd dismissed her, Erza thought that she would join Levy's team or form a team with Cana, she never expected that the celestial mage would actually go solo. What if Lucy was in trouble right now? Or worse, dead? There was no way of knowing. She growled in annoyance and looked out the window yawning. Lucy stood behind her, smiling. Startled, she swung around to face a steward who offered her a pillow. There was no Lucy.<p>

"Great, now I'm imagining that she's here. I need to get some sleep." She muttered to herself as she took the pillow and rested it between the window and her head. It was only a few minutes before she fell asleep.

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><p>That about does it. Everyone kept asking what was going on at the guild, so I gave it to you. Thanks for reading and please review. Thanks! ^ . \^


	9. Strange Birds and Lizards

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>I didn't think I would make it this week because I barely had anything written until Saturday. I usually write in this in the mornings when I get up. I get up at 4 you know. Some days I have a shower though. I use the extra time to either finish undone homework or write in this. I'm usually good about the homework though. Thank you all so much for your reviews and I hope that I will receive more with this update. Thanks for reading!<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 9- Strange Birds and Lizards<strong>

'_Snip.'_ Lucy cut the last stitch and stood back. The beaded lizard still watched her fixatedly. Ever since she'd shot down the giant bird, it had been staring wonderously at her and it was more than a little unsettling.

"There. I sewed your skin back together. It'll take a few days to heal so don't pick at them until they do. I'll see if I can come back then to take the stitches out. Until then, don't mess with it and don't go getting grabbed by gigantic birds again." Somehow, it all came out without a stutter. Lucy then walked past the lizard on shaky legs, giving it some room, and made her way to the giant bird that was dead a few meters out. Its body was tangled in the vines.

The blonde stopped on the thick branch that was close to it and put hands on hips. She'd caught her dinner, but. . . . "How am I supposed to get this thing back to the tree?" she asked herself aloud. No doubt the foliage might laugh at her, she could only feel it, not hear it. Lucy didn't know how long she stood there and stared at it, contemplating how to move the darned cursed thing. She could ask the vines, but they seemed to have a nasty habit of toying and joking with her. They could at least let it go. "Hey, um-." She was cut short as the giant lizard walked by. Lucy wasn't sure it was her imagination that gave the lizard a cocky looking walk or if it was the wounds that made it look so.

The brightly colored beast slashed at the vines and they let the dark bird go almost instantly. The branches below it parted as well so the bird dropped to the forest floor. Lucy didn't know she scowled down at it till she was picked up by gentle jaws in her middle and she squeaked. The lizard jumped and she screamed until they landed with a _'thud'_ on the solid ground next to the bird and it let her go with no marks. Lucy stood in the same spot, shocked until she heard a dragging sound and looked in its direction. The lizard was pulling the over-sized bird in the direction that I had come from. Was it thanking her?

When Lucy didn't follow, it turned its head to her and wrinkled its face in what seemed like a scowl. For some reason, she blushed, feeling guilty, and ran to catch up to it. "Th-thank y-you," She stuttered as she came up alongside it. It snorted and grabbed at the bird's neck again to drag it. Lucy watched the lizard as they moved toward the tree house where she was living. She still wasn't sure if it was repaying her for helping it, or if it was a friend, or even if was going to attack her later. The blonde knew nothing of these creatures and nothing of this forest. Who ever heard of a forest that had plants with personalities? She wouldn't have the answer now, only later. For the moment, the lizard was an ally helping her move the over-sized bird.

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><p>This forest was <em>not<em> normal. For one, the foliage kept trying to trip him and make him fall to the forest floor. For another, vines weren't supposed to move on their own. They seemed like they were silently hissing at him whenever he got near one, and when he did, it moved out of his reach. Seriously, this forest wasn't normal, in anyone's terms. It had some kind of disease or something to make it like this. That had to be it. There was no other way to explain it unless there was a mage that had something to do with it?

Hisoka shook his head tho clear it of the disturbing thought and looked ahead to see if he could spot anything. There was nothing, so why did he feel like there was something watching him? The onyx haired boy turned in a circle to see if he could spot whatever was watching him and caught something dark sliding into the shadows. Again, it wasn't human, so what was it? And why was it following him? He had to find that out, so he decided to play a game with it, whether it wanted to play or not. He wasn't about to be spied upon by any creature, human or no.

The swordsman started to quicken his pace, but minded the foliage that kept trying to trip him and take him down. There was a rustle as the thing tried to follow. Looks like it couldn't follow very well _and_ try to hide because every time he had stopped to look around, it had been sliding behind something. It might also be slow, which would help explain who he always saw it. That, or it was just bad at hiding. Hisoka started to trot, eyes on the ground before his feet and quick glances ahead to make sure he wasn't going to run into anything.

He had to make the thing come out somehow if he wanted to make it stop following him. Hisoka spotted an opening between two trees that had started to fuse together and headed straight to it. If the thing wanted to follow him, it had to go through the opening too because there was no other way past unless it went around. But if the thing went around, then it would have a hard time trying to find him again, it was perfect.

At least that's what he thought until his feet left the ground and there was furious flapping and screeching in his ears. He gulped and didn't look down, though the color still left his face and his body turned a scarce pale that made his hair stand out. Hisoka absolutely _hated_ heights. He'd been fine with it when he climbed into the canopy because it was hard to see the ground the vegetation was so thick, but now that there was nothing solid under his feet and air rushing past his body, it wasn't okay. Hisoka couldn't even move let alone make any noise of protest. All he could do was try not to look down.

Hisoka managed to squeak when the thing that had him ducked its head to look at him upside down while still flying. The thing looked like it had no eyes and it's long, sharp beak was cracked on the side, going all the way up to the flesh and continuing in a long scar over its head and over one eye. Hideous was one word for it. Frightened another. Even though its eyes were unseen, the bird looked scared out of its wits and angry. Why would it be angry? Had he done something to piss it off?

The thoughts flitted from his head when he remembered that he was still not on the ground and he felt like puking. He didn't know how long the bird flew with him or where he flew, he was too focused on the fact that he was in the air and his stomach was about to rebel. Hisoka only remembered when he was set down because his stomach heaved and anything that was in it came up and went over the edge of whatever he was on. When he had nothing more to throw up, he stayed slumped over the edge until he finally focused and saw the forest canopy floor far below him. He was quick enough to scramble backwards where he couldn't see the height and right into the dark hole of the tree trunk that looked to have been dug out, or burned out from the black scorch marks everywhere.

There was a rustle and scratching noise outside the hole and Hisoka watched as the bird that had carried him here settled on the edge of the ledge that was extended away from the tree. It folded its large wings awkwardly and had to rearrange them several times before it was satisfied and turned it's attention to the boy.

So this was what had been following him. Whatever kind of bird this was, it wasn't one that he'd never seen, or heard of for that matter. It looked to be just a few inches shorter than he was and its feathers didn't look right either. The black feathers -if they can be called that- threw off no light, but they seemed to flicker like a candle's flame in a breeze and had a purple and greenish tint to them. Its empty eyes were like bottomless pits, waiting to swallow someone whole; that cracked beak and scarred head made it look even more dangerous than it probably already was. Not a normal bird. Hisoka had never seen an animal, let alone a bird, with silver claws and beak.

When Hisoka shifted uneasily, the bird-creature glared and hissed through its beak. If not for the situation, Hisoka would have laughed. It looked like an old man scolding a youngster. The bird jumped down from its perch and hobbled over to Hisoka who didn't move from his spot as it started to screech insults at him. Strangely enough, it _did_ sound like it was calling him names and such.

_You stupid idiot! Did you want to get yourself killed? Baka! _It smacked him upside the head with his wing. It was hot, but not enough to burn. Hisoka stared at the bird with wide eyes. Was he actually hearing this? He shook his head and picked at his ears to make sure he was hearing right.

_I can't believe you almost went in there. Do you know what the local two-leggers _do_ to foreigners like you? Do you?_ The bird screeched. It sounded male and furious.

Unable to speak, Hisoka shook his head. _They cut you up into tiny pieces and cook you for dinner as an offering to Katsu, the god of victory. That's what they'd do to you! That's what they'd do to you!_

"You said that twice." Hisoka said without thinking. The bird smacked him again and glared. If looks could kill, Hisoka would be dead with the look the bird was giving him. He gulped and continued boldly. "Why are you so upset anyway?"

_You are one of few that can hear the likes of me. A Spirit Walker. Another word that you two-leggers like to use is a necromancer. Your kind deal with the dead and demons._

"Wait a minute. If what you're saying is true, then what about Lucy?" Hisoka asked. This bird was making absolutely no sense.

_Who?_

"The other girl that's here. She deals with spirits too. Celestial spirits."

_See, that's it right there. They're celestial spirits. Stars. Constellations. Nothing to do with the dead, or demonic. I am assuming that she is a Star Gazer: one who deals with the future and the world's pure things. If she is a Star Gazer, then she too is rare. But she has nothing to do with you. _The bird then hobbled away from him and moved towards the back of the hole.

"What do you call Star Gazers then?" Hisoka asked as the bird hobbled.

_Wha? _It look up from shifting around some dead leaves.

"Well, you said I was a necromancer. What is Lucy called then?"

The bird looked like it was glaring at him again. _Gypsy I believe. It doesn't concern me. _He went back to shifting the leaves around.

Hisoka silently watched the overlarge bird trying to figure out what it was, and what it was doing. It looked to be looking for something. "What exactly are you doing?" He finally asked, and jumped back when a pile of dead leaves were shot his way.

_Looking for something. Now shut up._

He wasn't exactly nice, so Hisoka edged to the outside, but not to the edge of the nest-thing.

_Ha! Finally._ Hisoka saw the bird pulled from under the leaves, a chest. By the _'clink'_ as it was pulled from the leaves, it was some kind of metal. _Come here boy._ The bird snapped and Hisoka did as ordered. He didn't want to cross the creature. As he crawled back inside the hole, the bird shuffled through the chest with his beak until he found what he was seeking and pulled it out. Without even asking, he pulled the thing over Hisoka's head and let go. Hisoka grabbed at it and tried to pull it back over his head, it wouldn't go.

Opening his hand, he stared at the pendant. It was a snake that twisted into a knot forming a triangle. The eyes were red ruby, the snake black steel. "What the hell is this?" He demanded, getting peeved.

_That is a Spirit Walker's pendant. Every Spirit Walker must have one._ He explained, putting away the chest and re-burying it in the dead leaves.

"Why?" he demanded, pulling at it again. The bird smacked his hand away and grabbed the pendant.

_This marks you as a true Spirit Walker. It is the source of your power. It is a medium that allows you to use your power. Only the greatest Spirit Walkers don't need one. Know your power, master it. Know how much it weighs so that you may know how to find it if you should lose it. Learn to be a Spirit Walker. Should you master it, you can bring back the dead to do your bidding, summon demons. _He let go of the pendant and turned around. _Or send them home._

Hisoka guessed. "Are you a-?"

_Demon? Yes, I am a demon. A Higher demon. Demons don't like to be summoned, especially the Higher and Greater Demons. If you're going to summon a demon, then summon one that you can control. Ones like me and higher tend to turn on the summoner_ .

Hisoka gulped and turned pale. The demon was silent for a moment then turned back around to face him. _You, you will learn what you are and then you will send me home. If you do not, then I will kill you like I did the last one. Now get out of here. _He squawked something that was very unbird-like and when he blinked, he was back at the tree house. Startled, he looked around frantically for the demon and saw him nowhere.

"Hisoka!" The boy was tackled to the ground and smothered in boobs. Lucy. She hugged him tightly as she sat up with him. "I thought you had been eaten or the plants got you." She cried, petting him. He felt dazed. "I brought home food that should last a long while, so it's fine that you didn't get anything. I'll share. Are you okay?" Lucy finally noticed the dazed look on the boy's face. He looked so confused.

"UMA!" Lucy called loudly. "I think Hisoka could use some of that calming tea you gave me earlier. He seems a little out of it."

Uma came out from the house and raised her eyebrows when she saw Hisoka. "Are you feeling alright Hisoka? I've never known you to be dazed." She put her hand to her forehead and the other to Hisoka's. "I don't think he's sick, just exhausted and may be overwhelmed. Let's get him inside." She instructed. Lucy helped Hisoka to his feet and he mechanically started walking without knowing he did. He was too busy trying to figure out what was real and what was dream.

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><p>It's a little longer than the last chapter, but I like it and I hope taht you did to. Please don't forget to review!<p>

^/ . \^


	10. Missions Begin

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>I only had the chapter half typed last week because I missed a whole day spending the night at my nieces' house so I could take one to school. That and I was being a little lazy last week. Thanks for being so patient for me. Please read and review! I love you all so much.<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 10- Missions Begin<strong>

After three different trains, six hours worth of delay, and twenty more hours of travel, Erza Scarlet was finally at her destination, well, almost. She just had to walk five miles unless she found an SE Carriage. She didn't want to waste her magical energy, so she decided to walk. The scarlet haired mage soon realized about a mile in that it was a bad decision. Walking gave her the time to think and the relatively quiet surroundings didn't help the situation. It would be pointless to turn back now, so she just kept on walking grudgingly. She kicked up stones as she walked and tried her best to think of anything other than Lucy, but no matter how hard she tried, everything she thought of seemed to have _something_ to do with Lucy.

Why did she let Lucy go? They had been a perfect team before Lisanna came back and messed everything up. Oh. _That_ was why she let Lucy go. She'd been blinded by the joy of having a long lost friend come home. Erza cursed, something that she never did, and kicked at a large stone in the dirt road. It broke and flew down the hill she was approaching. Erza hopped onto her luggage wagon and used the handle to steer as she rolled down the hill. She hit the bottom and started to slow as she went up. This was the part when she jumped off and ran the rest of the way up the hill before she lost the momentum.

When she was over the rise, she spotted the village. It was smaller than she had imagined. The S-class qualification fee wasn't cheap and small towns this size usually weren't able to afford the price of one, unless it was some kind of mining town. Was it a mining town? There didn't seem to be anything worth mining up in this secluded border area. Boarder territory always seemed to have no profitable value, though they always seemed to be the first defense against raiders. What was wrong with this picture?

"Everything. That's what's wrong with this picture." She answered her own question. Erza would have to be cautious. Pulling out the sheet of paper that had the briefing of the job, she read it. She started frowning halfway through the text and by the time she was done, she was scowling. What kind of job _was_ this? Who asks for help to find a ruby sapphire that probably didn't even exist? The ruby sapphire was a thing of myth and fantasy. Exactly how cracked were these mountain folk? Right about now she was wishing that she'd paid more attention what the jobs were rather than how long they lasted.

After a frustrated sigh, she crumpled the paper and shoved it back into the pocket she'd taken it out of. There was no use in complaining now, she'd already signed up to do the job, so she was going to do it as beast she could; though she doubted that the ruby sapphire would be found since it was nothing but a myth. In six months, she would be gone.

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><p>Gray had walked most of the way to his destination in a matter of a single day by taking the shortest routes he could find, including over mountain passes. Many that he took directions from said that he should take the long way instead because the passes were still snowed in and melting fast, so there were a lot of avalanches happening. He took them anyway, if only to be in his favorite environment than to avoid people. He got caught in two different avalanches and crawled out both times to continued on like nothing happened. The first inn that he'd come across up in the mountains was the worst because when he arrived covered from head to toe in ice and snow and shirtless, everyone there went into a frenzy and he was crowded with women. The men were instructed to hold him and warm him with wool blankets while the women got a hot bath ready and dried his wet clothes.<p>

He really didn't want to be warm at the moment because he was sweating bullets from the wool blankets, so he cooled the bath and felt better. When he finished his bath, dressed and came down for some food, the women were waiting to take his temperature. One fainted when they saw the result.

"Seventy-three degrees?" One screeched and then there was a flurry as more blankets were piled onto him. His sighed. Gray knew that his body temperature was unnatural; anybody else would be dead. The reason for the unusual temperature was because he was an ice mage. Conveniently, there was an attack of wolves -food was that was this scarce during the melting season was usually when wolves turned on people; it was called a Wolf Winter. Gray was the only mage there, so he pulled some ice mage stunts and drove off the canines.

"You're an ice mage?" One of the men asked when he'd finished.

"Yeah." He answered, taking his shirt and pants off. He then flopped down in the snow and signed in relief. One could see the steam that rose from his body as it cooled off and melted the snow around him. "Ah, that's better." he'd said. They left him alone after that, but he could still hear them talking about him. From then on, whenever he went into an inn, he made it a point to be wearing his clothes and be free of snow and ice so that the doting wouldn't happen again. One thing he hated more than Natsu was fussy women.

Now, he was sick of walking and took the train and an SE Carriage the rest of the way to the boarder. When he arrived there, he was in awe, or was it disbelief? How could a village be so. . . small? The biggest building in the whole place was probably the tavern slash inn, and it was only two stories tall. This was nothing at all like Magnolia. There were no places to clothes shop or anything, not even a hair salon. As he approached, he saw the wooden signs of bakers and butcher and cobblers and blacksmiths. It was like he stepped through a time barrier right back into the middle ages. This was almost a fourth rate village if it was like this, or could it be qualified as fifth rate?

Gray shrugged the questions aside to ask a more important one: Where was everybody? Surely they knew he'd been coming. The ice mage stopped in the small town square and listened for life. There was no stirring that he heard. He frowned and looked around again. The fountain had laundry left undone floating in it and there were baskets containing dirty and wet clothes set beside the fountain. Gray glanced at a building and found a water barrel that had been tipped over. Turning around, he caught a glimpse of a curtain falling back into place and being still. Quickly, he went to the door and thrust it open. There were shrill screams and a scrambling of feet, but there was nowhere the children could run to. Gray stared at them as they huddled in the corner and stared fearfully at him. What was wrong with this picture?

"Everything. That's what's wrong with it." He muttered to himself. If the children heard, they weren't saying anything. Gray counted and counted again. There were thirteen children, the oldest looking to be about twelve, the youngest a toddler of maybe two. "Where are your parents? And the other villagers?" He demanded of the children. The toddler began to cry and clung to the skirt of a girl who looked eight or nine. She clung back.

"The raiders took 'em." Said the oldest, clutching the others as close to him as possible. They didn't know who he was or if he was friend or foe. Gray saw that the boy was shaking, and badly. The corners of his mouth twitched foe a second.

"Ease up kids, I'm the mage who took the job you offered. My name is Gray Fullbuster." Gray paused and gave them a moment to take it in before he continued. "When did this happen?" He gestured outside, but kept his eyes on the children.

"This mornin'. They's hit 'bout milkin' time when ev'ryone else's a dreamin'." The boy then added, "Sir." as an after thought. Gray frowned. Milking time was generally considered around dawn and that was about ten hours passed. He turned around in the door frame and examined his surroundings again, this time with a skilled eye to things. The ground was trampled and the dirt thinner than anywhere else down the alley that had the barrel knocked down in front of it. That was how an expert would examine it, but he really didn't need an expert eye, the bandits left enough of a trail that even an idiot could follow them. What with all the food and other things that she dropped along the way?

How could these people be so easily overtaken by. . . amateurs? Any smart raiders knew better than to leave such an obvious trail. These guys wouldn't even be a warm up. Gray followed the trail all the way up the mountain cliff until he spotted a cove. Of course, the cliche cave for the bandits. That's where they _always_ go. As he approached, he noticed that there was no one keeping watching. That was two fatal mistakes so far: an obvious trail, and no sentries posted. How stupid were these raiders? Gray climbed to the entrance of the cave and went in. There were voices echoing harshly against the walls and the flickering on the stone walls. Mistake number three: they picked a simple cave. These were the worst idiots he'd ever encountered and he didn't bother hiding his presence because they would be less than cake, they would be muffins.

The voices immediately stopped and there was a loud scramble as they took up weapons. "Really, you people are the worst excuse for raiders I have ever seen." He said, rounding the corner. No one was there. A little suspicious now, he started to rapidly cool the cave, freezing the fire and the ground. It wasn't long before the cave was covered in ice. Where were the people? Gray was getting a bad feeling and couldn't decide whether or not to continue on. It was rare that he felt this way, and it was usually best to heed the feeling. The club to his head made the choice for him.

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><p>Back and forth, back and forth the pink haired dragon slayer paced. He was trying to decide on whether or not he should abandon his job and go after Lucy, or to stay and finish the job quickly so he could go after Lucy. If he just left, the Master would hear of it and know he'd gone after Lucy, but if he stayed there was less of a chance that the guild would come after him, but that would also mean he had to wait longer to find Lucy. So there was leave and be hunted or finish the job and not be hunted, but live longer with a guilty conscious. He was still dwelling on it when his train pulled into the train station of the town his job was located at. As luck had it, the train station was being attacked, though he wasn't really paying attention, so when one bandit put a gun to his head and told him to get on the ground like everyone else, he didn't take too kindly.<p>

Natsu slowly turned his head to glare -for he was not in the best of moods right now- and grabbed the gun by one hand. The heat of his irritation started to make the weapon drip onto the floor. "I don't know what you think you're doing to these poor people, but I won't stand for it. Have a nice day in the hospital." And with that, he set the guy on fire and turned to take care of the rest of them. By the time he was done, every bandit in the station was down with burns of all degrees. For once, there was very little damage done to the station itself. Natsu went to the guy nearest him and helped him to his feet. The man was not quite middle aged, but not old-looking enough to be called old man.

"Do you happen to know where the mayor of this town is?" He asked, not looking at the man directly, but at his surroundings.

"That would be me. I'm Heed Newtons." He introduced, sticking his hand out. Natsu took it and returned the pressure.

"I'm Natsu Dragoneel. I came to help wipe out your bandit population." Natsu still wasn't looking at the man, he was looking at the people who were getting up and to put it plainly, he wasn't happy. Most of the people were wearing rags and they all looked like they'd hadn't had a decent meal for months. "Why is everyone so skinny?" he finally asked.

"The bandits have been taking everything of value and driving them all out of their homes. We can't do anything to help because winter just ended and we're low on provisions. I don't know how the bandit populace got so big over the winter." The man explained. Natsu finally looked at him and noticed that his clothes hung from his body, indicating that he used to be more fit to his clothes at one point.

"Do you have any idea where they hide?" Natsu asked. It was best for the people and for him to get this done ASAP so the people could get their stuff back and he could be on his way.

The man shook his head. "They just raid and leave towards the mountains. They never let us follow them long enough to find out where they go. They hide somewhere in the mountains, that's all we know and nothing more."

"Great." Natsu said, looking at the mountains the mayor had indicated. If only Happy were here. The flying cat had disappeared several weeks ago and had told nobody where he was headed. Natsu wasn't too worried about him because he could take care of himself quite well, better than he let on. "I've got a lot of work to do, so I'd better start now." He mumbled to himself as he hauled his backpack onto his back and snapped the clip in front so that his shoulders wouldn't be carrying all the weight. The dragon slayer started hiking in the direction of the mountains, ready for a long stay.

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><p><strong>Random Fact- Goldfish don't have stomachs <strong>

That's about moderate. The next chapter is about everyone's favorite blue flying kitty! I know you've all been wondering where Happy was. Thanks for reading and please review! Thanks! ^/ . \^


	11. Happy

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team, what about Lucy?

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><p>Thanks everyone for being patient with me. I just got sick and am really tired. Happy has finally joined in the story! Hope that you all enjoy it. Please review when you're done reading. Thanks !<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 11- Happy<strong>

Lucy was gone, Natsu was ignoring him and fawning over Lisanna, Gray never really cared and Erza was too scary to be of any comfort. The solution to all his problems: Find Lucy. The blue flying cat known as Happy had thought that it was a perfect plan; simple. But when he got about a week into his plan, he noticed just how big a flaw there was in it. The flaw: How does he _find_ Lucy?Happy wasn't exactly a tracking cat and his nose was only good for finding fish, or others of his kind, so he turned to his only option: asking around. Only that didn't help at all either because it had been two full months now since the blonde's departure and nobody remembered travelers from that long ago.

Happy finally sighed and sat down on the roof of the clock tower. That was another problem, he had no idea where he was. He looked at the surrounding cliffs and found **CLOVER TOWN** posted on opposite walls. "I wonder where Clover Town is." He said to himself. (A/N: FACE PALM ! Had to do it.)

"Hey cat !" Someone yelled from below him. Happy looked down and spotted an elderly man. The man wasn't crippled-old, he was just young-old. Not quite middle aged anymore, but not old-old. "Yeah you. Scat cat. Get off the clock tower."

Happy stared at him. Why? He wasn't doing anything to it. "I'll get off sir if you can tell me where I am sir." Happy called back. The man did a double take and his face turned from a scowl to shock. Then he shook his head and picked at his ear, mumbling something that Happy couldn't hear. Spreading his wings, Happy glided down to hover in front of the man. "Could you tell me where I am sir?"

"Gyahh !" The man scrambled to get away and in his haste, fell on his butt. "Demon ! Get away you demon ! What have I ever done to ye to deserve a haunting?" Happy was confused. The man accused him of being a demon first and then says that he's haunting him. Was he going to be a demon or a ghost? Or did the man plan to accuse him of being a mage too? No, wait, he was a mage. Happy looked at other people, who were starting to stare, in search of someone to help this man because he obviously needed it. However, when he approached someone, they would run, screaming 'demon' or something similar. After a while, Happy gave up on finding someone to help the man because he was gone for one, and for another, he just wanted to know where the hell he was.

But how could he ask someone if they all kept running away? His tummy growled and he looked at it. He was getting hungry too, so he headed off to find a shop that sold fish since he sucked at fishing. Everywhere he went, whether they sold fish or not, they didn't let him go in. Finally, when the last restaurant shut him out, he sniffed. Walking to the fountain in the town square**, **he sat on its rim and shuffled his feet in the water. He sniffled again and rubbed his eyes, but he couldn't help crying. He was tired and hungry and he wanted to know where he was, but no one would even stop to talk to him and answer his questions.

"Wah !" Happy cried openly, even though most cats had their dignity, Happy wasn't one of them. He was lonely and hungry and tired from flying around everywhere, he had a right to cry. Suddenly, someone was petting his head. Happy perked his ears up a little and turned his head to look at who finally dared to touch him, or even come this close to him. It was a little girl who looked to be about five or six. She wore a rose pink dress coat and a matching hat that covered most of her blonde curls. On her feet were snow white stockings and shiny black little dress shoes. In her pink gloved hand, she offered a plate of small fish. Happy took the plate and began to eat, still crying.

The little girl watched him with big, bright blue eyes. She had a round face, like most children, and a small, delicately curved nose. She patiently waited for him to finish eating before she spoke. "What's your name kitty?" She had a high, bell-like voice.

"Happy. Do you know where I am?" He asked, wiping away the tear tracks.

She giggled, like any other girl-child would. "You're in Clover Town silly. Didn't you see the big letters on the cliffs?" She asked.

"Aye, I did, but I didn't know that this was Clover Town. I've never been here before." Happy responded.

"My name is Lila. I'm glad to have met you Happy." She smiled, paused, then got a curious look on her face. "Why were you named Happy?"

"Because when I came out of my egg, I was happy all the time." Happy explained gleefully. Someone was talking to him and not running away !

"Kitties don't get born from an egg silly. That's birds and reptiles." The girl giggled again.

"I'm not a kitty, I'm an Exceed, see?" He popped his wings out and hovered a minute before he made them disappear again. "I'm a mage." The girl didn't seen scared, more like amazed.

Suddenly, she hugged him and jumped up and down. "Finally, another mage ! I thought that I was the only mage here." She explained when she set him down.

"What do you mean 'only mage here'?" Happy asked, confused. Weren't there other mages here as there was in every other city?

The little girl shook her head, curls bouncing. "Clover Town is an isolated town in the pit of a crater surrounded by mountains. It's a little known town, so travelers don't come here often, especially mages, so if a mage shows up, they're labeled as demon or god depending on what the mage did with the magic that they possess. You were labeled as a demon probably because you can fly, you talk, and you're blue."

Happy looked down at himself. "Is blue bad?"

Lila giggled again. "No silly. I just said that it might be a reason that the town labeled you as a demon."

"If this town hates mages so much, then why are you here? You're a mage too aren't you?" Happy inquired.

"Yes, I'm a mage, but I don't know what my powers are. I just discovered it a few months ago when I was in Shirotsume." Lila's happy mood seemed to vanish and was replaced with something else. The expression she now wore looked concentrated, sad, and angry at the same time

"What happened?" Happy asked curiously. What could she have possibly done to have a reaction like that when she talked about her discovery of magic? Everyone had magic, it's just that some didn't have enough of it to really do anything with it. This town must have been a breeding ground for those who were like that.

"Would you believe me if I told you 'I don't know?'" Lila still had on that look and she wasn't looking at Happy, but at something distant that wasn't there.

Happy, thinking it better that he drop the subject, took the girl's hand, bringing her out of her concentration and into the present. "Do you know a place where I can stay? I don't have a place to sleep." Happy said cheerfully, like he always did.

The girl's smile came back. "You can stay with me." Then she seemed to contemplate something. "Stay here. I'll be right back." And she trotted off, only to return later with a bottle of dark liquid in hand. "If we don't want people to recognize you, then we'll have to dye your coat a more natural color because blue isn't going to cut it."

She drew a bucket of water from the fountain and began to change Happy's fur color. When the exceed was finally being dried off, he found that he was now a glossy black color that tinted blue in the sunlight. Albeit it was a barely noticeable tint, but it wouldn't attract attention. "Now you can't talk except when you're alone with me and you can't fly or else they'll know who you are. Walk on all your paws, not just your hind ones, and you'll be the perfect cat." Lila explained. Happy shook out his coat, feeling weird. The girl gathered him up in her arms and started walking to wherever she was staying.

It turned out that she was housing with a young couple until she decided to leave. At first, they were skeptical on allowing Happy to stay in the house with them, but after he was told to purr and look cute by Lila, he was allowed to stay, as long as he did his business outside. He was given some fish and other meat scraps for his meal and then Lila took him up to her room for a night's rest. Tomorrow they would decide what they were going to do since Lila didn't want him to leave and Happy wanted to find Lucy. Happy fell asleep curled up on the pillow next to Lila, who was already asleep with a hand on Happy's tail. Unknowingly, Happy began to purr as he drifted off to sleep.

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><p>'<em>SMACK'<em> "OW! Hisoka! That hurt." Lucy cried. It was currently their third week of training an Uma had started them on staves two days ago.

"Sorry." Hisoka muttered. He wasn't used to sparing with someone who didn't know how to use a staff. He'd learned it when he was four or five, not when he was well into his teens. For now, Uma had left him in charge of teaching Lucy the staff and all he had to say for her know was 'Ugh.' Lucy wasn't the kind of person who caught on to things like he had been, at least not with weapons training that is. She might be excellent at learning spells while he absolutely sucked at it. Who was to say?

"High block, middle block, low block. You have to remember Lucy-chan. I'm not changing my strike pattern at all. High, middle, low, high, middle, low. We can't move on until you have the blocks down." Hisoka explained gently but firmly.

"I'm trying, but it doesn't feel right. My feet keep wanting to point in and my hands keep moving from where you told me to put them. They want to move closer together." Lucy tried to reason.

"And your belly wants dessert before dinner. Do you always give your body what it wants and not what it needs?" Hisoka asked sharply, but still softly. The onyx haired boy grabbed Lucy's staff and repositioned them in the right place, then smacked her feet into the correct position before standing back and taking his stance for the offensive. "High." He shouted and stroked high. Lucy blocked it, but clumsily. "Middle." He gave the middle stroke and rapped her fingers because they were in the wrong position and in the way. Hisoka didn't stop. "Low." She missed it completely and earned a smack on her legs that would most certainly leave a bruise.

"Ow! Hisoka!" The blonde whined as she skipped away and tripped, landing on her bum. "That hurts." She glared up at him as she rubbed her butt and legs.

"It's _supposed_ to hurt Lucy. It teaches you a lesson so that next time you won't stop when I hit you fingers that were wrongly placed again." Hisoka was starting to lose his patience and it was showing in his voice. "Get up and let's do it again until you have it right." He ordered.

"But I hurt and now my legs are aching." She complained.

That was the end of Hisoka's patience for the day. "Do you want to get stronger or not Lucy? You won't get any stronger by complaining and fighting the person whose trying to help you succeed with your goal. I want to learn other things too, but I can't do that until you're caught up. I'm being as patient as I can with you and all you're doing is complaining." There was a long silence that followed, the only sounds being Hisoka's heavy breathing and the breeze that rustled the trees and foliage. Even Uma didn't bother them as they argued. Slowly, Lucy go to her feet, wincing as her weight rested on bruised muscle. Carefully, she positioned her feet and found her hold on the staff before she met Hisoka's eyes again. They were full of a determination now, and that was good enough for him.

"High." Hisoka called as he brought his staff down again. Lucy blocked perfectly. "Middle." Lucy held the mid-block position as Hisoka hit jarringly. "Low." The blonde covered her legs in time to stop the blow. They went back up to middle, then high then back to middle, and low. They repeated the exercise over and over again, and no matter how many times Lucy missed or had her fingers rapped, she kept going because now she knew Hisoka was going to continue on to the next strike without a blink of hesitation.

Lucy had just gotten through two rounds without messing up when Uma called for lunch. Hisoka finished the high and went to middle before stepping back and setting aside his staff. Lucy was certain she had a few broken fingers as she set down her staff next to Hisoka's and followed him in. She went to the medicine cabinet that held all of their medical supplies and started to splint her broken fingers with much pain involved. When she finally had all four fingers splinted, and the others treated with bruise balm, she took her bowl of stew. They'd been having a lot of stew recently because of her catch.

"This is about the last of the meat from that bird. He was tasty." Uma announced as she took her empty bowl to the washing tub.

"Really?" Lucy asked, looking at the chunk of meat on the spoonful she was about to put in her mouth.

"I still don't know how you managed to kill something like that, let alone drag it all the way here." Lucy pushed to comment away by laughing nervously.

"Ha, ha, yeah." The blonde said nothing more and pretended to be extremely interested in her bowl of warm stew. Hisoka stared at Lucy over his bowl of stew, wondering how she actually _did_ manage to drag the heavy thing all the way here. She seemed to avoid the subject as much as possible, and he didn't want to pry when he himself had something that he didn't want to talk about during that hunting session.

"Tomorrow, you both go hunting again. Try to bring home something a little smaller this time Lucy and Hisoka, actually bring something home." Uma told them and she finished washing the cooking utensils.

"Yes ma'am." They replied automatically. Both finished their meals and then went to studying strategy and tactics. Lucy could only focus for an hour before her mind started to wander. Closing her study book, she stood and walked out of the house with Hisoka watching her until she disappeared, and Uma didn't do anything but simple housework.

Lucy took up her staff and asked a few vines to follow her a little deeper into the forest. Ever since she came back from that first hunting trip, she had talked to the plants and those that watched her train agreed to help her practice further when she asked them. The vines of the forest all seemed to have the heart of a trickster, for they liked to play endless tricks on her while they were practicing. Today, the vines helped her with staff training. They used Hisoka's staff and formed a rough shape of the human body as something for Lucy to concentrate on. It was harder to grip her staff with splinted fingers, but she did her best anyway and by the time she came in at mid-afternoon, she sported new bruises all over her body and a bump on the head. The vines were evil little imps whose sole existence was to make her training days miserable and then point their fingers -tendrils?- the other way.

After she reapplied bruise balm to her ouches, she went outside again and practiced karate with a dummy. By the end of the day, she was so exhausted and achy that she didn't even remember changing into her pajamas or falling asleep.

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><p><strong>Random Fact: <strong>Bananas are ripe when they're black, so we eat bananas before they ripen.

Hope that you all liked it. I wasn't paying it enough attention in the mornings before school because I was looking at Halloween eye makeup designs. Please read and review! Thanks ^/ . \^ **  
><strong>


	12. Dreams

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>HA HA! Happy Halloween! I got it done this week! Yes! Hope you all enjoy a littler suspense. Please review after you're done reading. Thanks! I love you all!<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 12- Dreams<strong>

It was another one of those dreams she'd come to call "Home Sickness Dreams," only this one wasn't about the guild as a whole, this dream had only a scarlet haired girl wearing armor. Her muddy brown eyes looked extremely tired, as did her body. She was also very dirty, which was unlike Erza. Lucy knew the scarlet haired mage loved to be clean. She had admitted it only once to Lucy, but Lucy had never forgotten about it. Lucy always thought that her ability to remember insignificant details was a little creepy, but she liked to be able to know the little things. They came in handy when she wanted to get them a present because then they could continue to take care of the little things that she knew about her friends.

Lucy watched as Erza hauled one piece of stone up and handed it to the person next to her before bending down and grabbing another one. Lucy watched in confusion as Erza handed off rock after rock as the start of a long line to a cart. Was she, mining? Lucy almost laughed at the idea as it popped into her head. That was certainly a possibility since she was in the ground hauling heavy rock after heavy rock. It was probably the job that she took. Why she would take such a dirty job was beyond Lucy's knowledge, but if Erza was here then the others should be too. The blonde looked around, hoping to see the others, but found no one else that she recognized.

She then scowled and scolded herself. Why would she be excited to see them when they're the ones who kicked her off the team in the first place? She was a soloist now, which meant that she didn't have to concern herself with them any longer. But still . . . . Lucy continued to watch Erza haul, since there was really nothing else to do, and as she watched, she noticed the stone wall behind the workers looked odd. Lucy stood up in a fluid motion that she paid no mind to, and walked over to the wall, hardly noticing when she went through a worker who shivered when she did. Placing both hands on the stone wall of the cave, she examined it closely. Uma had given her and Hisoka both a book on stones and all the different kinds of faults that could be in one.

This crack was odd looking, almost spider-webby and it looked, , , wet. Placing her hand over the crack, she felt coolness wash over it. Water. The water that came through the crack came ever faster, trying to release more water than the crack could let through. A piece of the rock fell, allowing more water to dribble out. It would burst before long, she couldn't just stand there and wait for them to notice, so she went straight to the front of the line where Erza was and started screaming at the workers to get out. None of them, it seemed, could hear her. What could she do to get them all out before the wall burst?

Unconsciously, she grabbed her other hand. It was cold and red. The water. She could touch the water but not the people. If she couldn't warn them about the water by touching them, she would let the water do the talking. Quickly, she cupped her hands under the silently flowing water and filled her hands. Turning, she threw the water at whoever was in line and it splashed a few of the workers, startling them. They looked around and spotted the water running down the wall at a faster rate than it was a second ago. Lucy spotted a piece of the stone that was starting to bulge out of place ans pushed on it, trying to bide more time.

"Water!" Yelled the men that she had splashed. The workers dropped what they were doing instantly and ran for the exit, spotting the leak on the way out. It caused them to run faster. Lucy was no longer focusing on the workers, but on the wall. She pushed as hard as she could on the stone that wanted to come out. She almost had it back in when another bulged, threatening to burst out of the wall.

"No you don't." she growled, and started pushing against that one. She could hear Erza's strong voice in the cave, directing people to move. Worse, it was nearly right behind her. "Erza move!" She screamed at her friend. They were still friends. If they weren't teammates, they were still friends. As she expected, Erza couldn't hear her. Another section of the wall started to wiggle out of place. Lucy threw her body against the wall to prevent it from giving way, not while Erza was in here.

The wall burst, spraying rock and sand outward, past Lucy's body. She couldn't touch it anymore. Lucy whirled just in time to she Era leaving with blood running down her arm. She must have been hit. To Lucy's horror, she found herself slipping away. This was a nightmare, one that seemed so real. Desperately, she reached out to Erza. "No, don't go. She's not safe yet. Stop! No!" But it was too late. She was no longer in the cave. Instead she was in a forest somewhere. She knew she wasn't awake and somewhere in the enchanted jungle because one, there was no vine and in the jungle, vines were everywhere. As a substitute for vines, moss hung from nearly every limb and coated the ground, save for a few places. Slowly, Lucy got to her feet. She was still wet from the previous dream, but she paid it no mind because she was, after all, dreaming.

The first blast of mountain wind hit her and she went down on her knees, shivering and hugging herself. Being in a skirt and tank top was not the best attire for the brutal mountain drafts, but dreams were cruel and there was nothing she could do about her attire. Lucy heard a rustle and a twig snap and then he was visible. Lucy went rigid when she saw him and a chill that had nothing to do with wet clothes and cold air went though her body. Her throat formed a huge lump that allowed nothing but a croak to come out and she tried to speak something. She didn't know what she was trying to say, she just knew that something wanted to come out of her mouth.

Natsu was only standing about twenty feet from her location in this grove of trees looking completely lost. Finally, he sighed and slung off his pack, then used it as a cushion. "Where are we Lu-." Natsu cut himself short, seeming to remember something, then shoved his fist into his mouth to bite down in frustration. Lucy knew what he'd been about to say: her name. Lucy was normally the one who navigated through the unmarked territory. "Damn it." The dragon slayer growled, then he slammed his fist into the tree behind him, leaving a considerable mark on the poor tree. Unintentionally, she grabbed her side, feeling a flash of -what she thought- a painful cramp.

There was another rustling of the brush and Natsu's snapped his head up, instantly shifting into a crouch that balanced him. Through to bushes about ten feet to Lucy's right, a white head of hair stumbled into the grove. Lucy sucked in breath that she started holding unintentionally as she stared at the reason why she wasn't with her team -ex-team- right now. Natsu's brows furrowed and turned into a scowl.

"Lisanna, why are you here? I took this job alone." Was it just her hopeful thinking, or did he sound cold?

"I finally found you." She seemed to ignore his question as she bent over her knees, inhaling air that was hard to get at this elevation. "You really need to learn how to navigate Natsu. You're like, ten miles from the village." She looked at him through her hair that had fallen forward.

"Their scent goes all the was out here. These thugs go a long way out just to get away from that small village. It doesn't make sense. They're so poor and they don't have much anything of value. I couldn't smell any kinds of jewels or special metals when I walked through there to start hunting. Is there something else that they're holding there that the thugs are looking for when they raid, but can't find it?"

Lucy couldn't tell if he was talking to Lisanna or simply thinking out loud as he sometimes did when they'd been a team. Lisanna, done with adapting to the elevation, stood op straight and began to walk towards Natsu, but it looked weird. Lucy scowled, Lisanna normally bounced when she walked, this one didn't. She walked like. . . a guy. As she thought this, the fake Lisanna unsheathed a dagger hidden under her jacket, hiding the noise it made under the crunch and shuffle of leave the intruder kicked up.

Natsu didn't even notice. These really were the worst nightmares she'd ever had. They were so realistic too; so much so that it was scary. Without even hesitating to stop and think that this was just a dream, the blonde launched up from the ground and plowed headlong into the imposter who seemed to know of Natsu's connection to the white haired mage. The fake, surprised if anything else, automatically lashed out with the knife at their invisible attacker. Lucy felt it sting all the way up her left arm, but she didn't dare let go when she got her arms around the person. She didn't know what else she could do because she couldn't talk to Natsu, so she just held on tightly with her arms and legs.

Natsu watched as Lisanna tumbled over and her arms clasped to her sides. She was gasping for air that was being squeezed from her lungs by some unknown force. He looked at the imposter in amusement for a long moment before getting to his feet, grabbing the fake by their throat and slamming them against the trunk of a tree, well above the ground. For a split second he swore he smelled vanilla and strawberries, but when he inhaled to get a bigger breath of it, the scent was gone. _Oh great, so now I'm hallucinating. I need to finish this soon._ Natsu thought. He quickly turned his attention back on the imposter.

When Natsu slammed the imposter against the tree, Lucy yelped and fell to the ground beside Natsu. She landed on her back in a way that made it painful and rolled to get off of it. The celestial mage rolled right into Natsu's leg. She froze. Natsu.

"Who are you?" Lucy heard Natsu ask of the impersonator. She didn't get to hear the answer because she was swept away into another dream. This time, the dirt under her body was cold, almost frozen. Despite the pain from her previous dream, being wet from the one before that, she lurched to her feet. Who was the Dream King going to show her next? Carefully, Lucy observed her surroundings and found that she was in -what appeared to be- a cellar. For a cellar and it being near winter in Fiore, it was scarcely empty. Most of the shelves were bare of any preservatives, and any there were there looked to be several years old.

Her worst discovery so far was that there was rats, lots of rats; she even found a snake curled up under a broken barrel and screamed when she found it. She absolutely _loathed_ snakes, but the discovery of one had caused her to bolt down the empty aisle of shelves and find Gray. Giving a large sigh of relief, she sank to her knees in front of him, only to finally notice he was shackled to the wall with magic circles keeping him from getting out. Lucy blinked. She'd read about magic circles that confined another mage's power. There were all different kinds and different levels of the spell; this one -as far as she could tell- was a simple one and a weak one at that. Easy to break. As she gathered her power, she noticed something; it was easy. Usually it required some effort on her part to use her magic, and now, it hardly took any effort at all.

With her controlled magic, it took no time at all to break the confinement spell and even less to break the binding spell that bound him in the shackles to the wall. When she released the spell, the cuffs popped open and Gray slumped to the floor. Lucy caught him before his head hit the ground and found out something else: she could lift him easily. Before, it seemed that he weighed a ton, and now he didn't. He wasn't exactly light as a feather, but he wasn't heavy either. So Uma's training was working after all. Either that or this dream gave her superpowers.

Lucy sat Gray so that he wouldn't slide to the floor and damage his head any more than it probably already was. As she propped him up in the corner, she saw his eyes flutter and heard him whisper something that sounded vaguely like her name. The blonde gently patted his face. She had the feeling that this place wasn't safe and she needed to wake him up; even if this was a dream, she would rather that she be helpful here when she wasn't in real life. As if to confirm her suspicions, a door banged into the cellar and she heard the hiss of a sword being unsheathed.

"What are you doing mage?" The person called. It was definitely male. They must have felt her remove the binding spells.

"Gray, wake up. Comr on, you're in trouble if you don't wake up." She whispered to him as she hit him somewhat harder. He groaned and squeezed his eyes, then opened them half way, drowsy.

"What the. . . ?" He didn't finish the sentence, for he was on his feet and preparing to make something with his ice magic. "What the hell was that?" He demanded of the man who had come into view. "I was here to help you, and you attack me by luring me with a lie that you were attacked."

The man was silent for a second. "What makes you think we aren't the bandits?"

One side of Gray's mouth twitched up. "Because I never said anything about bandits, I just said that you were attacked."

The enemy sneered at him and balanced his feet so that he could wield his sword. The last thing Lucy saw was the man charging in a downward cut before she opened her eyes to bright light and started vomiting up what was last night's dinner.

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><p><strong>Question:<strong> Is it Ketchup or Catsup? I've heard it both ways.

I'm a dead gypsy for halloween. Thanks for reading and please review! I'd appreciate it very much. Thanks! (I'm in kind of a hurry right now)


	13. Erza

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>You all have my deepest apologies for missing two weekends in a row. I was determined not to miss a third. I had an utterly nasty case of writer's block. Hopefully it's a temporary thing and won't last much longer. Thank you all so much for being patient with me. This chapter is kind of short, but it was the best I could do to get around the writer's block. Please review when you're done reading. Thank!<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 13- Erza<strong>

She drifted in and out of consciousness for a long time until the itching and tingling in her arm turned to white hot pain and aching in her entire body. When the red head opened her eyes, she saw nothing. She blinked, only to find that it was still dark. When she tried to raise her hands to touch her eyes to make sure that they were open, bolts like lightning shot up and down it, making her hiss and bite her tongue. She knew where she was now. Erza remembered that the mine had collapsed.

"I told them it was a bad idea." She growled in a low voice."I said that it wasn't safe. But no, 'We have to find the ruby sapphire,' is what they said." Erza would have argued that the stone probably didn't even exist and that they shouldn't waist their time, but she'd made it a personal rule not to talk about what the job requests asked for.

With much effort and a lot of pain, Erza pulled herself out of the rubble and over to the wall. She rested her head on the wall behind her and closed her eyes. She was absolutely exhausted, and very thirsty. How long had she been in here? A few hours? More than a day? Longer than that? These thoughts only fluttered by in her mind. She wanted to sleep, and that was all she wanted to do at the moment. So Erza stopped trying to think and drifted off.

It was some time later that she was awakened by a dull purple light glowing across her eyelids. Curious, but still tired, she cracked open an eyelid and noticed the hole through which the water had come. The water must have found some way to leave the chamber, else she'd have drowned by now. The glow came from that chamber. Swallowing her pain, she half crawled, half dragged herself over to the other side on the mine and into the new chamber.

When Erza was close enough that she could see the inside of the chamber, her jaw dropped and her eyes bugged out of her skull. It wasn't a chamber so much as ir was a tunnel, a crystal covered tunnel. The crystals were big and small, purple and blue, green and maroon, and they were all glowing. Even the ones that were in the silently flowing, shallow river were glowing. Erza had never seen anything so beautiful in her life. It took her a long minute to remember how to close her mouth, and when she finally did, it was because she'd spotted an odd crystal. It wasn't like the others, though it was still dimly glowing. This crystal had red spots and others were blue, but on the outside, it looked like there was some sort of black net of sticky stuff holding it all together.

The crystal was small enough that she could cover it with one hand, but it was heavy for its size. It felt heavier than lead, which made the crystal stand out all the more because crystals, or any gemstone for that matter, were generally light. Because it was such an odd stone, Erza tucked it into her belt pouch where it would be safe until she got out of here. Putting aside the pretty crystal mine from her mind, Erza focused on her magic and grimaced. She'd been using it all day as a substitute for explosives, and because of that, she was near drained of magic. But the requip mage was determined to get out of here before the mine decided to collapse again. She still had to find Lucy and bring her home safely.

So, gritting her teeth, she summoned up all the magic she had left to change into her Heaven's Wheel Armor where she then used Circle Sword. "Dance my Blades." She nearly growled the words, and the swords started drilling there way out using the old exit as a target. She followed them holding her injured arm to her body and applying as much pressure as she could possibly bear to stop the bleeding. Fainting now because of blood loss was inexcusable.

It took a long time to reach the outside and she couldn't stop and rest for fear the place would come down on her head. When she broke the surface, she hear startled cries that quickly turned into frantic shouting and, in some cases, hysteria. The men and women of the small village she was attending crowded around her, shouting questions at her. Wanting to know what went wrong. Before she could so much as breath a word of false comfort to the villagers, the exhaustion and pain and complete depletion of her magic caught up to her all at once. Her eyes rolled up in her head and her kneed turned to jelly.

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><p>The scarlet haired mage snapped her eyes open and sat bolt right up. Her breathing was jagged and sweat plastered her hair to her forehead. The dream was already fading and she couldn't quite remember what had shaken her, only that Lucy had been in it. Erza closed her eyes and drew in a shaky breath. She lay her hand over her heart, though she could hear quite well the frantic beating of it in her ears. As she tried to calm herself down, a teenaged girl who looked to be about fourteen or fifteen came into the room, most likely to check on her.<p>

The gasping sound that she made brought Erza out of her focus and she looked -glared- at the girl incredulously. "Mistress Scarlet. You're awake. We thought that you'd never wake up." The nurse babbled out in shock.

Erza clamped her eyes shut and held the bridge of her nose so that she wouldn't snap at the girl. It wasn't her fault she didn't know not to bother her when she was in this state. Lucy had always known better than to disturb her when she was completely devoid of magic. All she would do was smile and continue caring for her -and the other two- when they were all in the same boat.

Lucy.

The red head ground her teeth together and curled her fingers into fists as she realized how Lucy had been much more of a help than a burden to their team. She was always the one who found them after a hard battle; always the one who took care of their wounds before she got to her own; The one who found shelter and food when everyone else was out of commission. And no matter how crabby they were to her when they were drained, she always wore a smile on her face.

"Nurse." She finally rasped. Her voice hadn't been used in a long time, maybe so much as a week or more. The girl shut up and stood straight at attention, eyes waiting for a command. "Get me a drink of water please. My mouth tastes nasty." The nurse, finally reading the mood hanging in the air, scurried out of the room. When she was alone at last, Erza remembered the stone and patted her pockets. It wasn't anywhere on her body. Her scowl deepened. The villages must have found it. After a moment, she shrugged and turned indifferent. It was just a rock. A strange looking one mind you, but still a rock. Erza lay down again and felt something lumpy press into her head. The frown returned to her features.

These pillows should be quite comfortable really because they were stuffed with goose down; so why was this one lumpy? Unless. . . . Erza reached under her pillow and came in contact with something cool. When she drew it out, she found that it was heavier than its size indicated. Erza knew it was the strange rock before she saw its brilliant colors.

The frown was back again, this time with more frustration sewed into it. What the hell was this crystal? It was abnormally heavy and too cool, strangely colored and had a webby covering to it. Before she could speculate any more on the stone, the nurse returned with a pitcher and a cup.

"Here you are my lady." She chirped, pouring water into the glass. Erza took it with a nod to the nurse and gulped down the liquid. It wasn't cold like she wanted it to be, but it wasn't exactly room temperature either.

"I see that you found the ruby sapphire." The little nurse commented after Erza was drinking down her third cup of water. She choked and water was sprayed across the bed spread. Erza coughed and tried to make words as she did.

This thing was the ruby sapphire? She stared incredulously at said item on the side table, not even caring that water still came out of her mouth and made a mess on the bed.

"My lady?" The nurse said frantically. She didn't know what had happened. One moment the mage was drinking, the next she was choking. How could you possibly choke on water?

Suddenly, Erza snapped her eyes over to the bewildered nurse. "Get me the headman." She very nearly growled the words. Terrified that Erza might eat her, she ran out of the small room to get the headman.

If the villagers knew that she had found the ruby sapphire, then why hadn't they taken it when they found it in her pocket? Why had they been in her pocket anyways? If she'd really found the gemstone, then she'd completed her job and could now go find Lucy. Erza laughed once to herself at the realization. This job was supposed to last six months, instead it was shortened to two weeks. She was free to look for Lucy for five more months without being suspected of actually looking for her.

The headman walked in a few minutes later with a tired expression on his face; "What is it that you want mage?" He asked, voice hoarse.

"I found your stone, so my job here is done." Erza had out her professional voice, the one she only used with clients. "I also found you a crystal mine in the process, but I don't expect any extra pay for that, just the original price that was agreed on and I'll be on my way."

The old man pursed his lips as he gently picked up the gemstone. Slowly, he turned it over in his hands before sighing and looking back at Erza.

"We were given a vision by our god." He started. Before Erza could protest about god crap, he held up a finger to silence her. "I know that you do not worship out god, but please listen." When he was sure that she wasn't going to say anything, he continued.

"She gave us a vision of the stone and of the future and gave us the task of finding it. We wee told to give the stone to the mage who came to help us look for it because it was vital to everyone's future. So we give you this ruby sapphire for future use Erza Scarlet. May you protect our futures and that of mankind." He bowed his head down as he presented the gemstone to her.

It took Ezra a long moment to remember how to respond. Hesitantly, she took the gemstone from the offered hands and inclined her head. "Thank you. I will do my best to be a protector to everyone."

She was quietly left in silence.

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><p>Thank you so much again for your patience with me. I didn't get one PM of complaint. Thanks for reading. Please REVIEW! THANKS ^ . \^


	14. Natsu

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>Yes! I got a weekly update instead! That is a victory. Thanks for the comments and reviews. Keep them coming!<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 14- Natsu<strong>

The pink haired mage sighed and reached out his hand to grab the shirt collar of the bandit who was, yet again, trying to sneak off. "Not so fast buddy. Where you planning to go? Your hideout? Great. Lead the way."

The bandit stared at him like he'd grown a second head with three eyes and green skin. After a long minute of silence, Natsu shrugged, indifferent, and tugged on the rope that held the enemy mage captive. It was specially bought rope that Lucy had picked up for them after a job had gotten them into a lot of trouble because they couldn't keep the enemy mage captive no matter how many times they captured him. He'd been the biggest problem in that situation, not because he was a mage, but because he kept slipping away when he was so easy to catch.

Lucy had explained the purpose of the new rope once, but he hadn't been listening when she did. So now he was guessing that it restricted whoever it was tied to. The man tried to resist, but he soon learned that he only had two options: follow quietly or be dragged. Natsu didn't care either way, just as long as he was quiet and didn't get in the way of his tracking. The only thing that really distracted him was the question of how the mage knew about Lisanna.

He was positive that he'd never seen the guy before, nor smelled him anywhere. It was hard for him to forget anyone's scent, even if they never met directly. Natsu considered that a pro and a con to his sense of smell. Pro because it made it easy to identify people he was looking for. Con because he remembered all the nasty and bad smelling people.

For now, though, the dragon slayer tried to focus on the scent of the raiding party. It seemed to be everywhere going in all directions with some scents being days old and others a few weeks. Finally, Natsu got tired of going around in circles and tied his captive to a tree while he climbed it. Up there, the wind was even fiercer, but it brought in the stronger scent of the bandits from the Southeast. He faced the direction the scent was coming from while he climbed down so he wouldn't lose it. When he reached the bottom, he quickly untied his captive from the tree and wrapped his end of the rope around his arm a few times before he set off at a run, half dragging his captive behind.

He climbed up trees several times to make sure that he was going in the right direction and each time he did, the scent got stronger, and even more disgusting. Rotting meat was now part of the smell, so he assumed that they either don't know how to take care of their wounds or they didn't know what to do with the extra meat that they never got around to eating. He hoped it was the latter. Even Natsu had his certain levels of clean that he could not pass. The rotting flesh of a living person was where he drew his line. Not only did it smell absolutely revolting, but just looking at anything like that made his stomach churn uncomfortably

The sun was near it setting when Natsu finally reached a cliff face. "Alright." He told his captive. "We'll stop here for the night and climb in the morning."

"Wait, what?" The man finally spoke. His expression was full of disbelief and complete shock. "Stay here? At night? In the _open?_ Do you have _any_ idea how cold it gets at night with this wind blowing all the time? A person could freeze to death without some sort of shelter, and sometimes they do even when they_ do_ have one. You're absolutely _insane_."

The look on the man's face and the clothes he was in (The shirt and shorts that Lisanna wears) while he said the words had Natsu laughing before the man finished talking. "It's not _funny_ mage! I would like to be alive in the morning if you please." That stopped the dragon slayer's burst of laughter and turned his face grave.

"You still want to live while you take other people's lives?" He asked the man. His tone made the man swallow several times before he finally settled on nodding.

The mage was sweating bullets despite the windy chill. This mage, hired by the small village, scared him enough that he wanted to pee his pants, but he had nothing to expel, so he didn't.

"Your kind make me sick. You take lives and take lives, thinking nothing of it. But when your own lives are in danger, you beg for it like you don't deserve to die. Your kind are the most elfish kind of biped in existence. The people that you ruthlessly kill don't deserve to die, and yet you kill them anyway. It's disgusting." Natsu wasn't looking at his captive, he was staring at nothing again, thinking.

"It's not like we have that much of a choice." The man finally said after a long silence. The sun was disappearing quickly.

Natsu's eyes bore into the man's and he flinched. "People like me have to steal to survive because we have no money. Every one of us used to be a part of one of the villages along the boarder. At some point, we lost all we had. Our money, our houses, our land, our jobs, even our wives and children in some cases. When that happens, we're left with three choices. Find a new job is the first thing that everybody tries and most of the time, it fails. Option two is steal and option three is starve to death, become a beggar. The ones who don't succeed with option one generally go with number two."

"When you try to start over, why don't you go to the bigger cities where more jobs are available?" Natsu asked quietly.

The mage examined the dragon slayer carefully, trying to figure out what he was getting at. "The nearest big town is over fifty miles away. We can't walk that far without any way to get food and even if we could make it, our clothes would be in tatters."

The pink haired mage didn't answer, but looking to be chewing this through. The other mage kept throwing nervous glances and the setting sun that was nearly gone. Finally, he got nervous enough to speak. "Can we find a shelter before the sun completely disappears?"

Almost absent mindedly, Natsu laid his hand on the cliff face and his prisoner watched as a dark hole melted into the rock before him. His already pale face turned dead white and his lips were a barely noticeable line under his nose. Still looking completely distracted, Natsu walked into the cave he made pulling the man in along after him.

There was no need for a fire because Natsu heated the surrounding rock to the point where it was warm, but didn't burn. While his captive slept, Natsu stayed up later and thought about what had been said. It was hard to think that raiding was a way of life instead of a brutal way to have fun killing people and stealing their stuff for a prize, as he'd previously thought of it. His real parents had been killed by raiders. He still remembered sitting next to their corpses for two entire days until Igneel found him and raised him till he disappeared and was alone again.

He'd lost his parents twice. The first time was to bandits, the second to a mysterious occurrence happening to all others of its kind. He didn't want that to happen to anyone else; no kid should have to grow up without a parent.

Natsu fell asleep sometime before midnight, so when his captive woke up, he found his captor sleeping with the end of the rope that rendered him useless wrapped tight around his arm. The mage didn't even try to escape -Natsu looked too muscular for his skinny figure to even attempt to fight. So he just lay back down on the warm rock and thought about the conversation they'd had last night, though he'd done most of the talking. Still. . . . The way he was reacting and the expressions he gave indicated that he had some bad experience with bandits.

Bandits always seemed to be lumped into the same category as thugs. Thugs were the complete opposite of bandits. Bandits raided to survive and only killed when it was absolutely necessary and unavoidable. Most deaths caused in a raid by bandits were completely accidental. Thugs raided for fun and killed for sport. The complete genocide a town or village was thug work. Bandits despised thugs and vise versa. Nobody on the outside seemed to know that, they just classified thug and bandit as the same thing without even checking. Of course, he used to be one of those people, so he wasn't one to criticize.

It was about two hours after dawn when the man decided to wake up Natsu. He woke up disoriented and cranky, like usual. The man stayed as far away from him as the rope would allow, not wanting to get burned to a crisp. They began climbing the cliff after they had breakfast -Natsu was kind enough to feed the enemy mage a full meal, which befuddled the man. Natsu half pulled the man all the way up the cliff face and rested when they reached the top. The mage felt mare spent than the dragon slayer looked even though the mage was the one who was pulled most of the way up the face.

"What did you day your name was again?" Natsu asked, still breathing hard.

"I didn't. It's Retsu. Retsu Hitukara." The mage answered, still lying flat on the ground on his back.

"I'm Natsu Dragoneel, mage of Fairy Tail." Natsu introduced. He was lying on his belly with his ear to the ground and eyes closed. He slowed his breathing until Retsu thought he wasn't moving anymore, but stayed quiet himself.

Natsu had been so quiet and still that it startled Retsu when he suddenly pushed himself to his knees and looked straight ahead. By the time Retsu recovered, the pink haired mage was pulling him along towards the trees. When he'd finally picked up his feet and started walking, he saw the hard stare he was giving the forest. The man gulped quietly. He knew that they weren't far from the gang's hideout. This man must know it, too, with the look he had plastered to his face and the way he carried himself.

For a crazy moment, Retsu thought that Natsu looked like an animal protecting its territory from intruders. Not like a bear or mountain cat, but maybe a wolf? Them the thought vanished and Natsu looked like a focused person again. Retsu shook his head, hard, trying to rid himself of the sensation of a territorial animal. He was so distracted that he ran into Natsu's back when he suddenly stopped. Retsu recovered quickly, rubbing his nose, and then became frozen when he realized why they stopped.

In front of them opened a looming cavern. The entrance to his gang's hideout. Retsu was pale white and his lips were a thin line as Natsu continued forward with an air of purpose.

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><p>Please Review. I'm in kind of a hurry right know so I can't talk much Review! Thanks! Loves you all!<p> 


	15. Gray

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team, what about Lucy?

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><p>Happy early Christmas! I don't know if I'll have the next chapter done by then, but I will have another short story up (hopefully). It'll be a Bleach yaoi. I think it's an interesting couple that I'm putting together, so if you want to know who it is, then you'll have to read it. Thanks again for being patient with me everyone and I hope you enjoy this chapter.<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 15- Gray<strong>

The villager wasn't that hard to beat, but because he was still woozy from the blow to the head when he fought, he'd sustained a shoulder wound from the first downward cut. At least that was the reason that he tried to convince himself of because what he'd really thought he saw wasn't possible. Lucy couldn't be here. Though she'd disappeared as soon as the guy started his attack, so the only possible explanation was that he'd dreamed her, even though before he'd come to he'd been in darkness.

After having done a rough bandage around his shoulder, one that would hold until he got some help -a skill taught to him by none other than Lucy herself- he left the knocked out villager where he was on the ground and headed up the stairs, ready to do battle. The stairs led to the kitchen, and lucky for him it was empty because his stomach clenched. It was so painful it was almost crippling. If he was this hungry, then he must have been out a long time.

"Joy." He grumbled. There was a half eaten bread loaf and a rind of cheese sitting on the table. He wasted no time in shoving both into his mouth and then, after sniffing to be sure of what it was, chased it down with whatever was in the wineskin. These people were very old fashioned.

"Reed?" an inquiring voice asked, accompanied by the sound of an opening door. Gray moved to the side of the opening into the other room and remained quiet, listening to the heavy footsteps approach. There were two. One seemed to go in another direction. There was a '_whumph'_ and he figured the guy sat down in a chair or on a couch where there was suddenly noise coming from somewhere. Okay so they weren't _that_ old fashioned, but still. . . .

"Reed?" The other man asked again. Gray could hear his approach to the kitchen and his safely in the corner. The man that came in was big, but he was skinny. Muscled, but looking like he was starving. Before the man could turn around or even say anything else, Gray chopped at his neck with his hand, hitting the point of pressure dead on. The man collapsed and Gray caught him before he hit the ground. Carefully and quietly, he set the man against the wall and peeked into the other room. The other man that had come in was sitting on the couch, back faced to him, watching TV.

"Clyd?" He called after a long moment of silence. He turned his head a fraction to the side, looking to be waiting for an answer, but being half distracted by the TV.

It was now or never. Gray dashed over and hit the guy in the same spot he'd hit the other and he went down. He looked towards the front door and frowned. He definitely wasn't using that exit. He would use a back window if they didn't have a door. The ice mage ducked out a window at the back and found that the trees were right there. Perfect. Instant cover. He made a beeline for those.

When he got far enough away that he was sure no one would find him, he stopped. His face was pouring sweat and his shoulder ached painfully. The makeshift bandage was staining red. Silently, he cursed and ripped up the remainder of his T-shirt to re-wrap his wound with. He'd left his pack back at the house. He cursed again, more loudly this time. His pack had the necessary items to treat his shoulder wound -that included Lucy's guide book on how to properly treat the different wounds.

His lips went into a tight line. Lucy had done so much for him, and not just for him, for everyone. Whenever they'd been hurt in battle, she would be the first face they'd see when they opened their eyes. Of course, they would also be screaming and grunting in pain because she'd be treating and wrapping their wounds. Lucy had been like the medic of the team, and the cheerleader, and the backup, and the glue. Lisanna wasn't cutting it anymore. They's gotten so used to the way Lucy did things that they couldn't do anything without her.

Gray bit the inside of his cheeks. They's been stupid. _Really_ stupid to dismiss Lucy like that when they depended on her for almost everything. She'd been their navigator and their supplier. She'd always found them a place to stay at night, or a good hospital to go to. It was Lucy who had done all the work really. He, Natsu, and Erza just did the physical labor. Lucy had handled the financial, food, navigation, bedding, and medical problems. She'd even been brave enough to break up the fights he and Natsu constantly got into when Erza wasn't there to do it.

He really _was_ hopeless without Lucy. Not even a month after they dismissed her they were all going on separate job requests. They'd dismissed their glue. It was too late to regret doing it now. Lucy wasn't going to pop out and patch him up like she would be doing now if she were here. Because of his inexperience with patching up his own wounds, he had a big knot where he'd had to tie the ends of the makeshift bandages together.

Now he had to go and get his pack back. Judging from the angle of the sun, it was sometime in the afternoon. He may not have been a good navigator, but he knew the angles of the sun at least, so he could usually get an estimated time from this. It looked to be about three or four. There would be plenty of daylight to get his pack, the question was how long would it take the rest of the villagers to notice he was gone? And he didn't know how long those other two lying in that house would be out.

He was already going back. He needed what was in his pack if he wanted to survive out here while trying to find out what was going on at the same time. It seemed to take twice as long to get back to the house where he'd been held captive, but it always took longer to get back because in escaping from somewhere, one normally doesn't notice their surroundings, only a path to getting away -even if it is invisible.

It took him about thirty minutes to get back to the house. When he saw no one around, he snuck up to the window he'd escaped from and listened before he cautiously peeked over the sill. The room it led to was empty, so he slipped in as quietly as he could and went to listen around the opening that led to the hallway. Nothing. He peeked: still nothing. Gray frowned. It was eerily quiet in this house for having a recently escaped prisoner. That or he was getting paranoid.

He went from room to room until he got to the kitchen, which was the first place he searched for his pack. It was nowhere to be seen. He finally found it in the main room. At first, he didn't recognize it at his pack because it was wrapped completely in rope, but when he tried to pull it off after going through every room, it gave easily to reveal his pack. It was kind of creepy because it coiled itself back up and took its place where he normally had the rope attached to his pack.

For a long moment, he stared at it, then shook his head and picked up his pack. Lucy bought the weirdest things sometimes, but he appreciated everything that she'd given him because they were usually helpful in lots of different situations. Gray looked out the window to see if it was clear before shoving his pack out and slipping out after it. It was too easy to slip away.

On his way to find someplace to stay the night, her found a river. After he crossed it, he decided to bathe because it felt like days since he'd had a proper bath. He scrubbed his clothes because those stunk too -he had spare clothes in his pack courtesy of Lucy- and used the soap in his pack to wash his hair and the rest of his body. Lucy knew how to prepare a pack. When he was fresh again, he wrung out his wet clothes and started moving again; he was still too close to the village for comfort. There would be search parties out after him when they did realize that he was missing and he didn't want to be within range, but he wanted to be close enough that he could do some spying. He wanted to know why exactly this village had decided to kidnap him.

Gray found a grove of trees. Some were standing, others were on the ground, but it made a great hiding place because the trees were in a circular shape. The ones that had fallen were stacked on top of each other, forming a wall around the entire grove. It took him a long time to find somewhere to get in because the trees were so densely packed together, but the entrance that he did find was well hidden behind a layer of rotting trees. He had to get on his hands and knees in order to crawl through the small space, after shoving his pack through of course.

When he finally got in through that small crawl space, he looked for a good place to sleep. As expected, there were fallen trees in here as well. After inspecting several places, he settled with being under some trees that had crossed and fallen onto another tree, creating a cave-like den that was big enough for him to fit in. He didn't want to be outside in case it rained. It was colder every night, and it would drop even more since it was almost winter. Just because he was an ice mage didn't particularly mean that he liked to sleep in it.

It didn't take him long to fall asleep, even though it wasn't that late. Being locked up and then taking out three people and running away made him tired. He was weak from a lack of food. How long had he been out? What day was it? He fell asleep thinking about these questions and awoke to the sound of snapping branches. Without moving, and barely daring to breath, Gray listened.

Yes, there were defiantly people walking around out there. From the amount of light in the sky, it was either close to dawn or it was twilight. "Shit!" The sudden nosie startled him ,even though he knew there were people outside of his hideout, and he dropped his blanket that he'd been folding. It didn't make much noise, but he still froze more out of habit than sense.

"Where did that stupid mage go?" Shouted the same voice.

"Clyd, be quiet. He could be nearby." That voice sounded familiar. The guy who'd been on the couch?

"Shut up Jason. We're not going to find him anyway. He's had at least twelve hours worth of a head start. Anyone in their right mind would be miles away by now." Clyd snapped. The guy was obviously not a happy person, at least at the moment.

"Jeeze Clyd, you don't have to bite my head off. I was just pointing out to you that it's a possibility he didn't run away. Some people are curious as to why they are kidnaped and stick around to find out." This guy -was his name Jason?- seemed to balance Clyd out really well. He also seemed to be the logical thinker, the optimist, in the bunch.

"Would you two quite making so much noise? You could wake the dead with the amount of noise you're making. We need to at least find out which way he went." Hissed a third voice. They all sounded like they were just outside of the wall of trees. As quietly as he could manage, he retrieved his blanket and secured it to his pack. He was glad that he never carried the cooking supplies or else he'd be toast by now.

"We need to find him or else that reptile dude won't give us the money to by food for the village this winter." Gray didn't know which one said it, but it made him stop to listen.

"He might let his pet eat us if we don't have him." This was said by Clyd who, for once, sounded scared.

Gray needed direct answers, and he wasn't going to get them standing here. He jumped over the top of the wall of trees where the voices were coming from. He was already working magic and by the time he landed on the ground, he was ready to use it. "Ice make cage." It only took a second for him to find out where the three men were, and in another second, they were trapped in an ice cage.

"What the- you!" Clyd screamed.

"For a man, you're pretty emotional." he commented when Clyd ran out of cuss words to throw at him. This started up another string of curses. "This is getting old." Gray made a gag of ice around the man's mouth and turned to Jason. "Who is this reptile guy you were talking about just a moment ago?"

"We don't really know who he is. He never gave a name, just told us to get one of the Fairy Tail members and give them to him. In return he'd give us enough money to buy food for the winter. Our village is very poor and with all the robbing going on lately, we wouldn't have enough food to last the entire village through the winter." The man answered. He was willing enough.

"What does he look like?" Gray asked, walking over to Clyd's cage. He began to do something to it. To the people who were watching him, it looked like he was sliding his hand from the bottom of the cage to the top on every bar.

"Um, I don't really know. It was dark where we were so we couldn't really see him, but we did see that he had a really big reptile with him. We saw its eyes and its long body, that's all." The one who answered was the guy who'd been in the kitchen. Reed.

Why did that description sound so familiar? It was right on the tip of his tongue. He'd finished doing what he was doing to the cage, and now he grabbed two bars and lifted up. He heard gasping and the muffled scream of the guy in the cage, which now weighed close to ten pounds. Gray put the guy on the other side of the wall of trees and went back to do the same thing to the other two cages.

"Thanks for your help." Gray told them when he had them settled in a flat space. "These will break when it's about eight and here." He threw them something that clinked and opened when it impacted the ground. "It's not much, but it should get you something." He explained as the three men stared at the gold pieces that had spilled out. By the time they'd recovered enough to think that they should thank the mage, he was gone.

Gray would find out who wanted to harm the guild of Fairy Tail. Lucy would just have to wait a little longer.

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><p>Next chapter will have Lucy I promise. And just to make sure that we're on the right page, Lucy has been gone for four months. The last three chapters have been the passing of a single month. Please review! Thanks! ^ . \^


	16. Jonathan

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>Sorry that I skipped two weeks. I was busy building a castle (and a dungeon) on minecraft. It was fun. Anyways, here's chapter 16. Please review!<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 16- Jonathan<strong>

High, middle, low. High, middle, low. Clack, clack, clack. Clack, clack, clack. Seven count inhale, seven count hold, seven count exhale, seven count hold, and repeat. Lucy had finally found a way to meditate. It was one of the less used types, but it worked. Right now, she knew she was fighting Hisoka, though she'd never seen him to begin with. She always had her eyes closed when she meditated, and therefore didn't know who fought with her until the first strike. Sometimes they would tag team and fight her at the same time.

It was getting to the point where they didn't have to have a rhythm, it was random striking. Something was coming at her from the back, she could sense it, so she slid the staff behind her to knock it off course before swinging it around to block her head. Lucy had been thinking about something for a while now and she decided to try it. Could she still meditate and attack at the same time?

The next strike came from the side. When she blocked, she felt the vibrations of the wood travel up the staff and knew where Hisoka was standing and the exact position. It wasn't a guarded position, so he wasn't expecting the follow up high strike and ended up struggling to get back since he couldn't block in time. He ended up falling down with a hard '_thunk'_ which gave Lucy his position. She went to strike again when she heard the whooshing of air behind her. Uma struck her between the shoulder blades and sent her sprawling.

For a moment, Lucy just lay there, still in a trance-like state. Then she blinked and her muscles spasmed, snapping back into her voluntary control. There was another bruise for the morning. She groaned and weakly pushed herself to her hands and knees. Even on all fours she swayed. Lately, she'd been having dreams of home and of the dark room with the two men. That, on top of the weird lizard thing she kept finding when she went hunting, and the training, exhausted her. The dreams left her restless and sleepy. The lizard left her anxious, and the training left her sore. Her body couldn't keep this up for much longer.

The only good thing that had come out of this last month was her discovery of a new way to meditate and the improvement of her staff skills, though Hisoka still beat the crap out of her bones.

"What was that?" the blonde gasped, flopping over onto her back to glare at her teacher who was now standing next to Hisoka who was still on the ground and looking at her with the strangest expression. Awe maybe?

"What? I thought we were trading blows now. Guess not." Lucy glared at the smiling woman. For an old woman, she sure was evil.

"How did you do that?" Hisoka asked, still staring at her.

"Attack you? I don't know. It was something I've been wondering about for awhile. I wanted to see if it was possible to attack while I was still in a meditating state. That would come in handy if something were to happen to my eyes." Lucy explained as she struggled to get to her feet. Uma had been coming in her direction. If she hadn't been on her feet and standing without help by the time Uma reached her, she would have whacked the girl with her staff.

Lucy was in enough pain, she didn't need any more than necessary. Even though she was standing upright by herself, she still swayed dangerously on her feet. "What's with you lately? You've been shaky for the past few days." Uma demanded, propping her hands on her hips.

"I just haven't been getting very much sleep as of late." Lucy said, looking down.

"Lucy, you've been sleeping like the dead." Both of them looked at Hisoka who had finally gotten up and was dusting off his pants. "I get up at midnight every night and get a drink. I don't know why so don't ask." He said before Uma could get the words out of her mouth. "Every time I come back Lucy, you look like you're dead. If I don't listen I can't hear you breathing. There have been a few times when you look like you're glowing though." That last sentence sounded like an afterthought.

"Come to think of it, you looked like you were glowing the night we couldn't wake you up." The boy concentrated, trying to remember correctly.

"You've been losing strength since that morning I've noticed." Uma put in. Lucy looked at her teacher.

"Sorry." She didn't know what else to say. She was slowing down Hisoka's training and wasting time being like this. It was their turn to stare at her.

"You're apologizing for being unhealthy?" Uma asked. There was a tone of amusement in her voice that made her look up. Hisoka had walked over to stand next to his grandmother. Lucy almost laughed because they looked so much alike with their hands propped upon their hips and a scrunched up face, one scowling the other concerned.

Something behind the two caught her eye and she squinted to try and focus it better, then gasped. "What are you doing out?" she screamed, pointing to Virgo and Loke who were standing near the door.

Hisoka and Uma looked to. Hisoka jumped in Lucy's direction, startled. Uma's scowl deepened.

"We were wondering why Lucy hadn't summoned any of us for the past few months, so we decided to find out ourselves." Loke drawled, pushing off from the root he'd been leaning against and starting off in Lucy's direction, Virgo right on his heels.

"She's training and in no need of your help." Uma snapped at him.

Lucy thought she was brave to face down the strongest fighting spirit, but then, it was Uma and Uma was the scariest thing there was. The blonde staggered and fell forward, but Loke caught her before she could do a face plant. "You look sick." He muttered, sweeping back a lock of her hair. Lucy turned her face up to smile weakly at him and his eyes widened in understanding. "You're having Waking Dreams again aren't you." It wasn't a question. She heard Virgo gasp.

"Princess, how long have you been having them?" Virgo asked, expertly checking her mistress' forehead and pulse rate.

"I don't know. A while I suppose. There have been so many I don't know which ones are real and which ones aren't." She admitted ruefully.

"What are you talking about?" Uma demanded of the spirits.

"Waking Dreams. Dreams that are reality. Things that are happening while she is sleeping." Virgo explained as Loke swung Lucy up into his arms and started walking in the direction of the tree house. The blonde felt faint and quite weak. "They take her strength, and a lot of it. She's had them before, but not like this. Not consecutively." Virgo wasn't even looking at Uma as she followed Loke into the house.

"How is that possible?" Uma muttered to herself, though she sounded more concerned than confused as she should have been. "She's only seventeen. She shouldn't be having Waking Dreams yet."

Hisoka heard his grandmother say that. "Yet? What do you mean by that?" He asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Uma looked at him and then at his hand on her shoulder and sighed. "Nothing Hisoka. I'll tell you about it later." She removed his hand and followed the spirits inside, leaving Hisoka alone. Hisoka got the feeling that he already knew what was going on with Lucy, but he wanted more information and there was only one place he knew of that could possibly have it. The only problem would be finding it.

Hisoka went straight to the weapons room and selected a short sword to take with him and into the forest he went. First, he went to the place where he'd first met the demon bird. The plants were still as unfriendly as ever. He wandered around for a long time, looking for that demon. It was about noon when Hisoka stopped to rest.

"Damn it." He cursed. He started fiddling with something under his shirt absently as he tried to think of where the Higher demon could possibly be. The demon never had given himself a name.

"Stupid demon. Why are you so hard to find? Should've given me _some_ way to find you." Hisoka grumbled to himself.

_Insulting me isn't going to do you much good._ Drawled a scratchy, ancient sounding voice.

Hisoka jumped at the sound and looked up where the demon was perched on a thick vine. "Where did you come from?" It was a stupid question, but it was also an instant response to everything that startled him.

_Nevermind where I came from, what do you want?_ He snapped. He was just as grumpy as last time.

"I wanted to ask you more about gypsies, and necromancers." Hisoka started, getting straight to the point. The demon didn't seem like the type who would stand for a 'beating around the bush' type of approach.

_I already told you about necromancers, and I don't know much about those Star Gazers._

"Do you know anything about their powers? Like Waking Dreams and suchlike?" Hisoka prodded. He wasn't about to give up that easily.

_Waking Dreams? I've heard something about that. It's apparently one of the signs that indicate they're gypsies, but it doesn't happen until at least age twenty. That's why all gypsies are so old and rare. The dreams are usually passed off as dreams and those that figure out they're real often times get sent to the place where your crazy people go. They die before they're found most of the time. Waking Dreams have nothing to do with you._

"Actually, they do because my training partner is a gypsy and she's apparently having Waking Dreams at seventeen." They stared at each other for a long time; Hisoka was the one who looked away first. "How did you find me anyway? I was looking for you for hours."

_You called me, with the pendant. Just rub it and think my name._ He said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I don't _know_ your name." The demon stared at Hisoka skeptically, like he was telling an obvious lie that no one would believe. "I don't. You just told me I was a necromancer, gave me this," He held up the snake with red eyes. "And then sent me home after telling me all these weird things. You didn't give me your name, or how to contact you if I needed your help, or anything that was really useful."

The demon continued to stare at him like he was lying._ Hmm. . . My name is Jonathan._

It was a foreign name to Hisoka. It took him several tries before he could pronounce it remotely close to the original sound. Finally, the demon seemed to sigh and said, _Can you manage 'Jon' better?_ Hisoka tried it. The sound still had a weird accent, but it at least was easier and much more understandable. It rolled off his tongue better.

"Thanks Jon." Hisoka frowned. He would have to practice saying it because it just sounded too funny. The demon just grunted and ruffled his feathers a bit, turning his face away. Hisoka knew better than to ask if he was embarrassed. Not only would Jon eat him, but he would regurgitate him and then eat him again. When Hisoka looked up again, Jon was gone.

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><p>Thanks for reading! Please review! ^ . \^


	17. Sun Thieves

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>300+ COMMENTS! I'm so happy right now! Thank you all so much for commenting after each chapter. I hope that you'll have even more to say bout this chapter. It's quite interesting actually. Packed full of information that you all need to remember in the coming chapters. I thought a lot of this up overnight and I didn't have to change a thing ;P Don't forget to review when you're done!<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 17- Sun Thieves<strong>

When Uma went to find her grandson, he wasn't anywhere to be found. Where could he have gone? That aside, Lucy was more important right now. A gypsy of her age should _not_ be having Waking Dreams, at least not ones of the magnitude she was having. When Leo had put her back to bed, almost immediately after she fell asleep, Lucy had gone into a Waking Dream. Uma may not be a mage anymore, but she never lost her ability to see magic or feel its power. Usually, a beginning gypsy's power would be the consistency of water, thin and easy to go through. The more advanced gypsies felt like syrup, but Lucy? Her power felt as thick as clay. Only the most powerful gypsies could get close to that consistency, so why was Lucy already there?

Uma was now in her study, looking through all the ancient books and scrolls left behind by her ancestors who had also been gypsies and necromancers. Her family ran to gypsies and necromancers, and they left behind their legacy. The fact that gypsies and necromancers existed wasn't exactly a secret to the world, but they were so rare that all the information about them was kept in one place. The myths that were about gypsies and necromancers today were from the time when they were quite common. Some were close to the truth while others had been blown wildly out of proportion. They were not to be trusted.

Now, Uma sought their words of wisdom. She turned to the pages written before the Annihilation Era and kept going until she reached the entry of Chinatsu, one of the most powerful gypsies in the history of gypsy-kind. She should be able to give some advice on how to handle such a child. Uma rested her hand over Chinatsu's entry and began the meditative breathing.

_Who are you?_ Asked a wispy voice in front of her.

Uma slowly opened her eyes. On the other side of her desk, facing her was Chinatsu in all her glory. The woman was tall and very lean with bright orange hair that coiled down her back. The bright blue of her eyes contrasted that of her brown tinted skin and delicate figure. She wore the traditional harem pants of a gypsy with the coin sash and top band. The veil that covered her nose and mouth were a transparent orange. The same kind of cloth hung from her arms like water to connect to the collar on her neck.

"My name is Uma. I am one of your descendants." Uma explained, setting the book gently on the desk and standing up. She bowed graciously to Chinatsu before daring to look the woman in the eyes.

_Why have you called me here, Uma? _

"I need your help. I have a student with me who is like us, a gypsy." Uma started, walking around her desk and beckoning towards the door.

_I hardly see why you would need my help if you are a gypsy yourself, even if a damaged one._

"I need your help because she is only seventeen and already she is having Waking Dreams that are draining her almost dry." Uma explained as she led Chinatsu to Lucy's bedroom. "You are the only other gypsy known to have found your powers at an age younger than twenty."

Uma opened the door to Lucy's room and allowed Chinatsu in first. The woman stopped just before she stepped foot into the room and stared. Uma peeked around the woman and saw why she stopped. Lucy was, as Hisoka had said, faintly glowing and she was sweating from the effort it took to produce the dreams.

_This poor child._ Chinatsu was suddenly standing next to Lucy and running a hand over the length of her body without actually touching her. Slowly, Lucy's breathing returned to normal and she stopped sweating, but the glow did not fade. _She is not normal, as you have already found out. But the reasons for her powers showing before her time is a whole different matter compared to mine. I was powerful by nature and by myself. This girl is powerful by will and gets her powers from others._

_In ancient times, before I even existed, there were three great magics. We carried the magic of Star Gazers who saw the past present and the future. We were granted the ability to fight alongside the stars. Another clan carried the magic of Spirit Walkers who could talk to the deceased and communicate with the demons that roamed about in those days. They were granted the ability to raise the dead from their graves and open portals to the demon world where they sent all the demons home. Then there were the Dragon Speakers who carried the magic of dragons and could communicate and live among them as one of them. They were granted the ability to bear their scales and breathe their fires._

_Those were the three most powerful magics in the world. But there was another magic that our ancestors didn't know about until it was too late. At the time, there was no name for them, but they became known as the Sun Thieves. They stole the magic of all those they touched. For a long time, our ancestors thought that was the only thing they could do, but when the three great magics went up against the Sun Thieves, they discovered that the magic they stole could by used by the thieves. However, the Sun Thieves bodies were not trained to the magic they'd stolen and it destroyed their own bodies as well as our ancestors._

_It was documented that the entire clan of Sun Thieves was wiped out. It seems that our ancestors missed a few. This girl comes from a family of Spirit Walkers, Star Gazers, and Sun Thieves. And from her dreams, she has come in contact with a Dragon Speaker. _Chinatsu suddenly turned to Uma, blue eyes bright. _You must start this child on her training before she loses control._

"I have started training her-." Uma began, but was interrupted.

_On being a _gypsy_. She must know the extent of her power before she steals, or even kills, anymore magics from their users._

"She is a Sun Thief?" Uma asked, now confused.

_She is both a gypsy and a Sun Thief. And teach the necromancer before that demon gets impatient and kills him. _When Chinatsu said that, Uma raised her eyebrows. _I can sense the necromancer and the demon. _Chinatsu then raised her face to the heavens. _I must go now. Teach the children control before you teach anything else. _And Chinatsu disappeared.

Lucy's eyes fluttered before she opened them and Uma was standing over her. Suddenly, she remembered what happened and sat up. "I'm sorry. I fell asleep during training." Lucy tried to get to her feet, but Uma pushed her back into bed.

"Stay there and don't move." The older woman instructed. Lucy did as she was told and watched as Uma disappeared from the room. What was going on? Why was Uma allowing her to sleep? Or at the very least rest during training hours? What had Loke and Virgo said to her? Lucy was running through everything she remembered before passing out when Uma reappeared with a steaming cup of tea. "Drink this. All of it." Uma said, handing over the cup.

Lucy sniffed it and almost gagged. "Are you trying to kill me?" She asked without checking herself first. The blonde slapped a hand over her mouth as soon as the words had escaped.

"Are you trying to say something Lucy dear?" Uma's voice was too innocent; it scared Lucy to think of what might happen to her.

"No, I'm not saying anything. I'm drinking see?" And she drink the whole cup of nasty herbal tea. Uma must have lost her taste buds at one point in her life because Lucy was now half coughing, half gagging while willing her stomach not to rebel against the vile tasting liquid. Another glass was thrust in front of her and she downed the water to settle her stomach. It washed the taste of herbs from her mouth and stopped her fits. When she stopped gagging and hacking, she wiped the tears from her eyes and drew in a deep breath.

It took a moment for her to realize that her strength was returning, and quickly too. She no longer felt exhausted, but strangely energized. "What was that stuff?"

"It's an energy booster. We'll be using it until you gain all of your magical reserves back."

Lucy's eyes brightened. "We're going to start working with magic?"

Uma nodded her head. "Yes, but you will continue normal training without magic in the mornings. Before we start, I need to know something."

"Is it about the Waking Dreams?" Lucy asked before Uma could. She'd known this was coming.

"Yes."

Lucy sighed and sat up straight then looked Uma in the eye, which was something she never thought she'd do in her lifetime.

"When was the first time you had one?"

Lucy frowned and thought about it. "I think I had my first Waking Dream when I was. . . five maybe? It was right before my mom died. I saw her die in my dream and the next day, father said she died that night. I didn't have another until last year, the day before I met Natsu. All I saw in that dream was pink hair and a flying blue cat."

"Do you know when you started having them as of late?"

"It wasn't too long after we arrived here that they started. At first it was only glimpses, then they got longer. Remember the morning when you couldn't wake me up and then I threw up when I did wake up?" Lucy grimaced at the memory and Uma made an unpleasant face, but nodded.

"I had three of them that night, all in a row. And I could touch things in them without going through them, but nobody could see me. Are you okay Uma?" Uma had turned pale and tight lipped. "Uma?" She asked again when Uma didn't answer, or move.

Lucy started to get up to go look for Hisoka when Uma caught her and gently guided her back onto the bed. "No, I'm fine. Listen, Lucy, there's something I need to tell you." Lucy sat back down, and gave Uma her attention by folding her hands delicately over her lap and facing her body to her teacher's.

Uma opened her mouth and was about to say something when Hisoka called out, "Grandma?"

"I'm in Lucy's room Hisoka. Come in here." Hisoka poked his head through the door and saw that Lucy was awake, and Lucy saw his hair. That was the first thing her eyes zeroed in on. His onyx colored hair was littered with twigs and leaves, and was that a feather? "Oh, you're awake Lucy. Glad to see you're alright." The small smile that followed momentarily distracted her, but only momentarily. His hair was more important right now.

"Hisoka, come here." Lucy beckoned to him with her finger. Curious, Hisoka walked over. As soon as he was within reach, Lucy grabbed him and sat him down on the bed space in front of her. "I can't believe you did this to your hair."

Hisoka was so surprised at Lucy's sudden action that he couldn't resist as she picked through his hair. By the time he realized what was happening, Lucy had her legs wrapped around his waist in an inescapable snare; so Hisoka sighed and propped his cheek on his hand.

Uma laughed and both students stared at her. Since when did Uma laugh? "Sorry. Hisoka, you look like a kitten who doesn't want the bath his mother is giving him." Behind him, Hisoka felt Lucy giggle and his cheeks turned red. He was _not_ a kitten.

When Uma finally got a hold of herself, she looked at Hisoka and couldn't help smiling. "I'm glad you showed up Hisoka, now I don't have to repeat myself."

"What is it that you wanted to tell me Uma? I'm listening." Lucy urged, still picking things out of Hisoka's hair.

Uma took in a deep breath and slowly let it out before she started. "Lucy, you are what's called a gypsy, and Hisoka, you're a-."

"Necromancer." Hisoka interrupted her.

His grandmother stared at him, then understanding lit her face. "Did the demon tell you that?" She asked.

Now it was Hisoka's turn to stare. "How did you know about Jon?" The name still rolled off his tongue funny, but now it sounded better than when he'd first tried it.

"Who?" Both Lucy and Uma asked in unison.

"The demon. That's what he said his name was."

"When did you meet this demon Hisoka?" To his surprise, it wasn't his grandmother who'd asked the question, but Lucy who was still picking things from his hair.

"It was during the first hunting trip we had. He picked me up and brought me to his. . . nest?" He wasn't sure what to call Jon's domain. "He yelled at me a lot, told me I was a Spirit Walker, told me to learn my power so I could send him home, gave me this," He brought out the black knotted snake with the ruby eyes. "And then sent me home. I didn't know his name until about an hour ago when I asked him about Waking Dreams."

The women were staring at him again. "What? He was the only one who knew anything about gypsies and I wanted to know."

"'Curiosity killed the cat.'" Uma stated.

"'But satisfaction brought him back.'" Hisoka defended.

Uma sighed and shook her head. "You always were too curious for your own good."

"How else was I supposed to know what was going on around me?" He countered.

"Can we get back to the original conversation please? I'd kind of like to know what a gypsy is if you don't mind." Lucy interrupted.

Uma sat back and looked back at Lucy. "A gypsy's original name is Star Gazer. Star Gazers have the ability to summon stars, the celestial spirits. They can see the past, present, and future. The Waking Dreams you keep having are of the present. The one you had as a child was one of the near future. Eventually, you will be able to see farther ahead, but most who do sometimes go crazy. The future always changes, therefore, so do your visions. The present is easier to see because you see it as it happens. The past is harder. Although the past is set in stone, it hides as much as it can because it has already happened and does not want to be repeated."

"Are all gypsies as weak as I am? Because I'm pathetic." Lucy asked, pulling a bit of moss from Hisoka's hair. "Hisoka, what were you doing to get so much debris in your hair?"

"The forest doesn't like me okay? End of story." Hisoka wouldn't say anything else on the matter.

"You never asked them when you went hunting did you?" Lucy guessed. Hisoka pressed his lips together. Lucy laughed once, then looked at Uma for an answer to her first question.

"No, Lucy." Lucy's face fell. "But you're not an ordinary gypsy either. You're also a Sun Thief."

"What's a Sun Thief?" Hisoka asked. Jon hadn't said anything about those.

"I'm not a thief. I've never stolen anything in my life. I have too much of a guilty conscious to steal." Lucy was offended at the implication that she'd stolen anything.

"But you have stolen Lucy. You've stolen magic." Lucy was giving her the look that said she didn't believe her. "Have you ever noticed during fights you've had in the past, there have been times where you feel drained of magic and then suddenly you find the strength to keep going?" Uma asked, trying another approach.

"Ye. . .ah." The blonde sounded like she wasn't sure, or she didn't want to admit it.

"That's because you were switching to a different reserve of magic. Haven't you touched every mage you fought against at least once?" Lucy nodded slowly, not sure where Uma was going with this. "When you touched them, you stole all the magic they had on them at the time. You probably collapsed after each fight too, and that's because it takes energy to steal something. When you stole their magic from them, you didn't have much of your own magic left, so it drains you."

Lucy focused on Hisoka's hair as she tried to take in this information.

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><p>Hows that for interesting? I'm feeling genius right now. Thanks for reading! Please tell others about my stories and wait for the next update coming soon! REVIEW! I love you guys!  . \


	18. The Locals

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>O.O WOW. I got close to 30 reviews for last chapter. I've never had that many for a single chapter. Yay. This chapter is kind of short, but it's still interesting. You'll all like it, hopefully. Keep telling your friends about my stories and don't forget to review when you're done!<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 18- The Locals<strong>

_Gypsy. . ._Where had she heard that term before? Lucy was picking the last bits of flora from Hisoka's onyx hair and finger combing the rest while she thought.

"Are you done grooming me yet mother cat?" Hisoka finally asked, getting annoyed that she still had her legs trapping him.

"Yeah." Lucy replied absent-mindedly, and unhooked her legs from his waist. As soon as she'd loosened her grip, Hisoka had plowed forward so that he could get away. He hated being fussed over. When he was free, he took a seat on the floor where Lucy couldn't reach him.

_So I've been collapsing not because I'm exhausted from fighting, but because I've been stealing someone else's magic._ Lucy tried to make sense of it.

"How could I possibly steal magic? I know that you can transfer magic to other people temporarily, but to take it and _keep_ it? That goes against the laws of magic." Lucy was frustrated.

"Name one person who you've fought against, Lucy." Uma seemed determined to prove herself right.

"Um, Angel?" Lucy named the first person she could think of.

"And what was she?" Uma pressed. Hisoka just sat quietly and listened to the conversation.

"A celestial mage, like me. She could summon two spirits at once." How could Uma possibly say that she'd stolen Angel's magic when it was the same?

"And after you fought her, did you not start being able to summon a spirit when one was already out? Even if it was only for a short while?"

Lucy took a moment to think. After going over fights that came after Angel's, she did notice an increase in her summoning abilities. Not only had she gotten faster at summoning her spirits, but she could go longer when they were out. That time with the bandits on their way here, too, proved that she could summon two spirits at once even if it was only for ten seconds.

"Okay, fine. If I am a Sun Thief, as you say, then how am I able to steal magic? How does it work? I've been doing it unconsciously all these years. How would I do it if I wanted to take the magic on purpose?"

For once, she'd caught Uma in a tight space. Finally, she answered the question. "I don't know. There are no existing documents on Sun Thieves and their magic. Our ancestors wiped them out when they posed a huge threat to us. Well, we thought we wiped them out anyway. Apparently some survived because you have their magic."

It was totally silent for a long minute. Lucy was the one to break to silence. "Then how am I supposed to learn how to use it?" It was frustrating to know she had something rare, but could not utilize it because no one was able to teach her.

Uma's face then lightened a bit. "Actually, I think there might be one document that could help, but the locals have it." The trainees couldn't tell if their trainer was talking to them or to herself. It was quite possibly both. Uma thought for a second more, then turned her focus back on Lucy who instantly sat up straight as an instant reaction. After a moment of staring, Uma sighed heavily and shook her head in defeat. "Alright, time to learn a new language puppies. The local one."

"Why?" Hisoka was the one to ask, not Lucy.

"Because Lucy needs training in her magic. I can only help her with the gypsy side of it. The locals are the only ones I know about that might have something for her to look at. The locals are a tricky bunch and need a lot of persuasion to not kill you or to help you. What?"

Uma was referring to the look her trainees were giving her. A sort of 'oh my god I can't believe you' kind of look. "We've been running around out there hunting animals while the locals hunted us this whole time?" Lucy looked horrified. "I don't want to learn from people who could turn around and kill me at any time. I like my life, despite your torturous efforts."

"Lucy, it's the only way you'll be able to master that side of your power. If you don't master it then it will get impatient with you and get out of control. If that happens, you could badly injure or even kill someone close to you."

Lucy was silent. She didn't want that to happen, but she didn't want to be under the hand of human killers either. Decisions, decisions, why were they so hard to make? The blonde weighed her options. On one side, she could live and one day kill numerous people because she didn't learn her magic. On the other side, she could learn her magic, not kill people, and possibly die herself. The first option offered her a chance to see her friends again while the latter didn't guarantee she would live long enough to get that far. Between option A and option B Lucy decided to go with option C.

She would learn her magic, but she wouldn't get herself killed in the process and live to see her friends again without the risk of killing them. It was the perfect plan, in her head. The problem would actually be convincing the locals that she wasn't worth killing, but way worth teaching. That wasn't exactly the easiest thing to do.

"Let's start now then, please, before I lose my nerve." Uma smiled wickedly when she said it.

"Glad you agree." Uma left the room and came back with a thick, worn, leather-bound book. "Old Thesian is one of the hardest languages to learn." She said and she thumped the book down on the small table in the room. "They have a one-hundred-and-six letters in their main alphabet alone. But don't worry, gypsies and necromancers are masters at learning languages." Uma chirped. She was making the best of her torturing chances.

When Lucy glanced at Hisoka, more out of habit than concern, she caught him glaring at her. Laughing nervously and looking away, she rubbed the back of er head. This was going to be _hell_.

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><p>After three weeks of non-stop studying and repetition, Lucy was finally standing in front of the entrance to the local village, by herself, save for the local warriors surrounding her with sharp spears aimed her way. By this time, she was so scared she swore her bones were rattling with her. Uma had armed her with her keys and then sent her off to meet these guys. All she could think was 'they're going to kill me' at this point.<p>

She hadn't moved since she was surrounded by these people who were dressed in what looked like reptile skins and thin leathers. The men wore no shirts and she could see clearly their dark skin and their collection of scars. The women wore only a band on top. None wore shoes of any kind. Before long, a very tall woman wearing a necklace of very shiny and colorful stones came out. The warriors parted without taking their eyes from Lucy.

Lucy recognized this to be the headwoman of the tribe and showed proper respect by sweeping one leg back, like she was going to sprint, and bending the rest of her body to the proper degree for this woman's status. She's always been good at etiquette in the way of important people. When she returned to an upright position, she didn't look the headwoman in the eye as it was rude to do so.

"_Danai_," Lucy started in Old Thesian. She knew she had a funny accent, but it was understandable at least. "My name is Lucy and I have come to ask something of you." There was no answer, only a muttering among the warriors. "I mean you and your village no harm if that is why you hesitate to speak to me."

"I do not know you _queck._ I would not if you are worthy of trust." The headwoman's voice was low and powerful.

"You do not have to trust me _Danai_, I only ask if I may see the _Kequesix _if you still have it." This sent the warriors into a roaring fit, but Lucy only focused on the headwoman who stood ridgid.

She held out a hand that immediately silenced the warriors before she spoke. "How would a _queck_ know of the book of _Kequesix_?" She asked with a dangerous undertone. Lucy knew she was stepping on hot bricks now. She had to be careful.

"I was told about it by a friend of mine who was raised in this forest." Luc explained. She only answered the question and gave no further information. If she did so without it being asked, it would be counted as an insult to the _Danai_ and she would be killed.

"Why do you want it?"

"I don't want it _Danai_, I want only to look at it's contents." Despite the heat of the forest, Lucy felt chilled.

"Why?" Crap, she hadn't answered the initial question.

"I have a rare magic that it might have information on. It may tell me how to use it before I lose control over it."

The _Danai_ was silent for a maddeningly long time. "What is this rare magic that you say you have _queck_?" She finally asked.

"I do not know what it is called, _Danai_, but I do know what it does." Lucy was sure they could hear her heart beating as loud as she could.

"And what does it do?"

"It supposedly steals magic from other magic users and would allow me to use the stolen magic at a cost."

"Is that all?" The woman pressed. She didn't sound so threatening anymore, more like curious or surprised, but Lucy still didn't looked the woman in the eye.

"That is all the information that I have obtained on the magic _Danai_."

After a moment of silence, the headwoman placed a hand on Lucy's forehead and held it there. There was an uncomfortable probing in her mind, like hands trying to grab something slippery, and then it was gone along with the woman's hand.

"She speaks the truth." The _Danai_ told her warriors. "What is your last name child?"

Lucy noticed that she'd stopped calling her a _queck_ which was the word for outsider. "Heartphilia _Danai._"

"Ah." The warriors took away their spears and did the traditional bow of their people. Startled, Lucy looked at them, completely confused. "We have found our lost branch of the tree."

Then the _Danai_ bowed to her in the manner of a monarch acknowledging a monarch which was a dipping of the whole body and an inclination of the head. Lucy was escorted into the village feeling very confused and more than a little relieved.

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><p>Thanks for reading! I find it a little sexist that <strong>headman <strong>is a word in the dictionary and **headwoman** isn't. Sorry, random fact. REVIEW PLEASE AND THANK YOU! ^/ . \^


	19. The First Journey

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>Dang it. I keep missing weekends. I'm sorry. I nearly had this chapter done last weekend, but then my brain decided to take a vacation at the last second. Anyways, thank you all for being as patient with me as you've been. This chapter is about Lila and Happy. You won't see Lucy for a while, though, just to warn everyone. Thanks so much for reading. REVIEW please and I hope you all enjoy!<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 19- The First Journey<strong>

"Why are you looking at rock balls Lila-chan?" Happy whispered to the little girl he'd been traveling with. They were slowly traveling North as Lila's visions told her to go.

"Crystal helps me See better. It makes things clearer. We might be able to find my cousin better if I have one." She explained patiently, like she was talking to herself. Happy's fur was now half black, half blue. It had been nearly three months since his fur was dyed black and his original fur color was showing more than the black now. Frankly, he was glad of it.

"Excuse me, little girl, can I help you?" They both turned at the deep voice behind them and looked up. It was the store clerk. He'd seen Lila looking in the window for a long time and come to investigate.

"Um, maybe. Do you have any crystal balls? Or just clear crystal in general?" Lila asked, staring at the man with her big blue eyes. She looked so innocent and adorable that way it was impossible to resist her.

The man blanked. "Um, uh, y-yes. Yes, we do have some crystal. Got in a new stock yesterday. Follow me." The tall, dark-haired man led them into the store and towards the back, he turned a corner where all the different types of crystals were.

"They're all so pretty." Lila began going through their crystal collection and the man pointed out several crystals, naming good properties the different crystals had. "What's this one? It's pretty." Lila picked up a stranger looking crystal. It was a small crystal ball that was smoky blue-gray. At the center of the crystal was another ball of a hard red color. When she touched it, the smoky coloring looked as if it moved, like smoke would move in an enclosed area.

"Kaiya? Where are you?" A voice called from the direction of the front desk.

"Boss, you should come have a look at this." Was all the man said as he stared at the crystal. The smoky color was defiantly moving, but now it looked like a storm was brewing inside because little streaks of lightning could be seen running over the surface.

"What are you doing Kaiya? You're supposed to be watching the front desk-." The man that came around the corner was shorter than the clerk, but he was better dressed and clearly the owner of this place. He'd stopped short when he saw Lila and Happy, who was watching the crystal ball in her hands intently. Happy knew that look. Lila was Seeing something that was obviously important.

"A jungle." Lila's voice sounded eerie. "My cousin is in a jungle that's alive. If my cousin succeeds with their plan, they'll live. If not, sever consequences will be the result." Lila blinked and the smoke in the crystal stopped churning so much; lightning on the surface disappeared into the ball. She blinked again and looked at the clerk who was pale and looked sick.

"This is the best conductor I've ever seen." She exclaimed, oblivious to the man's face. "What's the price on this thing?" She asked him, excited.

"That thing has been here since I opened shop." Lila turned around and finally noticed the owner standing there. He, too, was pale, but at least he handled it better. "It's been sold so many times, but it always makes its way back. I never figured out why, but you just showed me the reason."

Lila looked confused. Happy was, too, as he looked from Lila to the owner and back again. "What do you mean sir? Why would someone give something this beautiful back to the shop?" Lila indicated the crystal ball.

"It's obviously a mage's tool. Normal folk like myself and Kaiya over there," He gestured to the clerk who had gotten at least a little more hold of himself, and continued on. "Have bad reactions to mage's items."

"Bad reactions?" Lila tilted her head, trying to figure out what he meant.

"The last owner of that crystal was a wealthy farmer. The day after he bought it, he had a heart attack and his wife had a stroke. Their children returned it without a refund." The man took out a handkerchief and wiped his damp forehead with it. "I saw just now that the crystal can only be owned by a mage with a considerable amount of magic. You can have it little girl. I don't want that thing coming back to me."

"Really?" Lila couldn't believe it. "I can have it?" A crystal this big and beautiful for free? It was the score of her lifetime. "Thank you so much sir. I promise it'll never come back to you as long as I have it. This is the best Seeing crystal I've ever used before. I promise I'll take good care of it." The small blonde girl seemed to glow with happiness as she skipped out of the stone shop with a padded wooden box that held the strange crystal ball.

Happy followed Lila with a last look at the clerk and owner. The clerk was still a bit pale, and the owner seemed happy to be rid of the crystal ball. Lila found a place to stay the night and they would leave in the morning. For now, though, they had time to do some shopping. Lila got some more jerky for herself and fish for Happy to put in his pack. She also got a bundle of green bananas because it was always hard to find fruit that would last a while they way they were traveling.

"Li-chan, where are we headed now?" Happy asked before they went to bed that night.

"North. There's jungles up in that direction and my cousin is in a jungle." She yawned and gradually stopped petting him. Happy continued to purr as he himself nodded off to sleep.

"Happy." A voice whispered in his ear. Someone was shaking him.

"Huh?" The blue cat looked up, rubbing his eyes, and saw Lila. She was dressed and ready to leave. Happy looked out the window, it was still dark. "What's going on?" He yawned and stretched, as any cat would when they woke up.

"I heard the people who let us stay here talking last night. They weren't going to let me go in the morning because I'm a minor. They were talking about taking me into foster care and stuff. We need to leave now, before they wake up." She explained. While she'd been talking, Happy had gotten his little pack and put it on.

Lila climbed on top of the desk that was in the room and opened the window. "Why are we using the window?" Happy asked and she climbed out.

"Door's locked. They really didn't want me to leave. Let's go." And they set off for the jungle. When they were a safe distance away from their host's house, Lila brought out her glowstone which lit their path brightly. They were about two miles out of town by the time false dawn approached and out of sight of the town when true dawn came.

"This is so fun Happy." Lila remarked at lunchtime. They'd stopped on a big boulder just off the road to have the midday meal. The boulder was on top on a hill that was apparently on top of a cliff because they could see where the cliff broke off and the scenery that was beyond it. It was nothing but red rock.

Lila swore she could see the heat radiating from that place. "Next town we're going to have to see about passage through the desert. My cousin is somewhere on the other side of it, and I don't need my crystal ball to tell me either."

"Okay Li-chan. Can we get more fish when we get there?" Happy asked, eating the fish he had.

"Don't tell me you've eaten it all already."Lila looked at Happy with an incredulous expression.

"I have one fish left." Happy announced to her proudly.

Lila looked at him with the same expression for a few moments longer before shaking her head. "If you keep eating all the fish on the first day, I'm going to start getting you sardines." The small blonde girl finished her piece of jerky and stood up brushing off her skirts.

She'd swapped the dress coat for a pink and white parasol. Today, her dress was all white with pink trim lace and she wore a hardy pair of sandals. She wore them because they were easy to take off and she mostly walked barefoot when they were traveling. They rubbed her feet raw, making a sore spot on both feet and she didn't want to wear out her dress shoes any more than they already were.

"Let's get going Happy." It was a funny sight to see the girl try and get her backpack on because it was so big, but despite her size she could pack a lot of weight. Or so it seemed.

The backpack held three dresses that were all Lolita style, so they were big and took up space. Then there were all her socks an stockings that went with them, her necessary undergarments of course, three pairs of gloves (two of which were used for her outfits), her one pair of shoes, two books, and now her coat. Her jerky sack was attached to the outside of the pack which also held a big jug of water, and she held her sandals in her hands.

The two books were worn down from the many times they've been flipped through. The thicker one contained many different fairy tales and the other was about fortune telling. Every once in a while, she'd read a tale out loud before the sun set.

"Come on Happy, we don't have all day and we don't have a flashlight." She urged him. Happy packed up his fish and secured it firmly to his back before spreading his wings and taking flight.

They spent a week in the next town trying to find someone who was crossing the desert. It was only on the eighth day that they found a merchant wagon that was headed in that direction.

"Where's your family little girl?" The old man that was the leader of the caravan had asked.

"I've got no parents. I'm trying to find my cousin, and they're on the other side of this desert, I know it. That's why I need to get across." She'd explained in the cutest voice and the most innocent face she could have plastered on.

The man had been skeptical for a while, fearing she was a runaway. He didn't want to aid a runaway, and Lila knew this. She'd gotten things like this before, so she talked fondly of her cousin and about how much she couldn't wait to see them. The man finally stopped suspecting her because she sounded convincing, and she should have because it was all true. Lila had agreed to help out the caravan so that she wasn't freeloading, that and she wanted something to do other than read.

Happy still had to pretend that he was a normal cat, well, mostly normal anyway. Blue wasn't a common color for a cat's fur. Happy didn't dare fly around and risk being kicked from the caravan. He just wandered around on four legs and purred when someone pet him. Being a normal cat was easy, however some things were hard, like eating. He couldn't eat with his front paws like he normally did, so he finally decided to play the paranoid kitty who thought that once the food was given to him, it'd be taken away.

When he ran away with the fish in his mouth, he usually went to a secluded spot and ate like he normally did. It took just under a month to cross the desert. Along the way, they ran into some bandits. It had been a normal day in the desert, which was really hot and practically sweating their faces off. They'd come up on the canyon part of the desert, so they had some shade, not that it did them much good.

Happy, with his sharp ears, heard the sound of pounding hooves first, but it was Lila who told them because she saw it in her crystal ball after he had heard the approach. "Everyone! There's bandits coming upon us in two minutes!"

The caravan people knew better than to ignore her warning. Last time they had, they'd nearly lost one of their people to quicksand. They quickly uncovered what weapons they had and readied themselves. "Happy." Lila called.

He trotted over like a normal, loyal cat would and hopped up into the wagon she was riding in. "There are a lot of them, maybe twelve." Lila acted like she was talking to everyone else, but Happy understood what she was telling him. It meant that he may have to give up the 'normal cat' act. If things got bad, he would anyways, even without the warning. Everyone could hear the approach of the bandits now and they came barreling around the corner, swords raised. They were a bit surprised to find that the caravan was prepared for the attack.

As they came upon the caravan, Happy counted and came out with three more than predicted. Happy knew already that it was going to be a bad fight, just by the numbers. It was ten, not counting the children, to fifteen. Happy saw the man that came up from the side and was going to swing at Lila.

Quicker than even Happy expected, he unfurled his wings and grabbed the man from his horse. The guy was lighter than Natsu, so it was easy to lift him up to a ledge on the canyon rocks; the guy screamed the whole way. After dropping the first bandit off, Happy glided above the battlefield. Every time he spotted someone who was becoming overwhelmed, or in danger of losing, he swooped down and brought the enemy up to a ledge that was always too high to jump from.

By the time the battle ended, nearly half were stranded on a ledge. Some were in twos and threes, others by themselves. "Happy!" Happy perked his ears up and flew down to Lila. He didn't even bother to put away his wings as he crashed into her, hugging her.

"Are you unhurt Li-chan?" He asked as she stroked his fur.

"I'm fine Happy, thanks to you." She then took a deep breath and turned around to face the caravan people who were staring strangely, and curiously at Happy. Happy put away his wings and attached himself to Lila's back. He didn't want to be kicked out.

The caravan leader finally stepped forward and bent down to examine what he could see of the strange cat. "Thank you for helping us Happy. We're glad you were here." Happy's ears perked up and he stopped cowering behind Lila, who was smiling. Slowly and carefully, he peeked around the caravan leader and saw that none of them looked hostile towards him or scared.

"You're welcome. I was just trying to be helpful." He popped out his wings again and came out from behind Lila.

"Have you been hiding this the whole time?" The old man asked, like it was normal to talk to a cat.

"Yes." It was Lila who answered the question. The leader trained his attention on her. "A talking blue cat that can fly isn't exactly normal, and most people don't like things that aren't normal. They were all uneasy when they saw his fur color, but they dealt with it. If he'd start talking, they would all throw things at him. We didn't want to get kicked off the caravan, so we didn't tell you about it."

"Well, there's no problem now." And he turned back to his caravan. "Let's get going." They had to move the dead bodies out of the way, but after that, they quickly picked up the pace, taking with them the horses that had belonged to the thugs.

The sun was just setting when the navigator yelled and pointed. Both Lila and Happy looked in the direction he was pointing and they saw a thick, green jungle laid out before them. At this, they would part. One of the spare horses was given to Lila and Happy along with some rations and water. They camped there for the night, but when the caravan woke the next morning, all they found was 'Thanks' written in the sand.

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><p>It's longer than last chapter! I'm proud. I keep making them too short.<p>

**Random Fact: You drive in a parkway and park in a driveway**

REVIEW please and thank you. ^/ . \^


	20. Strange Thief

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>I had a bit of a writer's block the last few days. an idea for this chapter only hit me a couple hours ago, thank goodness. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to REVIEW when you're done.<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 20- Strange Thief<strong>

He ran full speed down the steep hill, he had to. There was no other way to go, and no matter what he did to be quiet, he would be found because the bastard could hear everything he did. Being quiet was a waste of time, and time is what he was short of. Rocks tumbled after him as he knocked them loose in his plummet down the hill to try and escape.

Gray never looked over his shoulder, because it would slow him down in the brief seconds of looking back.

"I can hear you. . ." Called the ominous voice that was following him. Shit. He was in trouble if he was caught, big trouble. He saw a flash of something bright on his left, and in spite of himself, looked to see what it was, nearly falling flat on his face when he did.

"Keep running Gray." Her voice wasn't quite as he remembered it. It was more wispy and softer, like she was whispering in his ear. Lucy's figure was ghost-like, but he could still distinguish who it was. He didn't realize he was crying until she touched his face with that ghost of a hand. It felt cold, and slippery as ice; he thought that nothing could make him feel cold, but it seemed that he was wrong.

"You can do it Gray. Keep running. Don't stop." She started to drift away.

"Lucy!" But she was already gone. He kept running. A few minutes later, there was an explosion behind him. He kept running. He ran till he reached the cliff, then started following it South. He had to warn Fairy Tail before it was too late.

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><p>He never thought it was possible. Never even in his dreams did he think any of them would ever have a second chance. But here he was, working at the mill with a suitable salary that was enough to buy him room and board and food. His other buddies were spread out over the town with various jobs such as blacksmithing, cobbling, construction, and all manner of work. This was all thanks to Natsu, the dragon slayer. Retsu had thought that they would all be killed when he walked into their hideout, but Natsu didn't kill them.<p>

He'd walked in looking for all the world like he was ready to get rid of the 'pests' in the area, and surprised them all when he greeted them like they'd all known each other for years. "Hello guys. I found your mage Retsu here."

He'd pulled on the rope and yanked him into the cave. Retsu had nearly tripped over a protruding rock when he did it.

"Retsu, aren't you a mage? Can't you even get out of some ropes?" One of his mates growled.

"Traitor." He heard someone mutter.

"Yes, yes I can, when they're not MAGIC that is. This is a special rope that renders a mage useless you idiot. And for the record, I did NOT lead him here. He found it himself." Retsu defended.

"Yeah, right." They didn't believe him at all.

"No, no. He tells the truth. Retsu didn't breath a word of where this place was. He's as loyal as a dog. Only, dogs that don't have homes usually stink, making it easier for me to find their hideout." Retsu recognized the look Natsu was wearing and backed as far away from him as the rope would allow. Not only was Natsu scary, but he was also overbearingly hot at the moment.

"I hear you're all in need of a job." That made the bandits pause from their defensive positions. Natsu continued on. "I'm here to help you find one." Retsu's jaw dropped and hung.

"How do we know that this isn't a trap to lure us into the royal army's hands?" The one who spoke was a bigger, older man with a nearly bald head and graying hair. In the way that he spoke and how he held his body, he seemed to be the leader of this band of bandits.

"If that were the case, I'd already have you all tied up like Retsu here and be hauling you to those imaginary waiting soldiers." Natsu wasn't even trying to be serious, which made his defense all the more believable.

"Fine. Let's say that you're telling the truth here. If you are, then why do you have our mage Retsu tied up?" The big man challenged, resting his hands on his sword hilt.

"Why? Because I don't want him to do that weird spell again. I'm kind of annoyed with her at the moment." This caught everyone, including Retsu, by surprise. Natsu was telling a half truth. He'd thought of the first part on the climb up the cliff, but he really was annoyed with Lisanna. She'd tried to convince him to stay instead of go on a job request alone, several times. And when he told her no, she insisted to go with him. He'd left in the night because he didn't want her tagging along, and wanted to do this alone.

The bandits had taken a while to be persuaded, but in the end, he took them to a town that his train had passed on the way to his original destination. He remembered that there had been lots of 'help wanted' signs posted everywhere.

And now that he'd taken care of the bandit problem, he was free to leave and look for Lucy. As he was getting ready for his departure, he remembered what he'd read in her book. That one paragraph. He had to find her, before anything bad happened.

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><p>"Fudge buckets of monkeys." The red haired mage cursed. She had absolutely no idea where in the hell she was. Lucy had always been the navigator. Wherever she was now, she was freezing and there was plenty of snow on the ground. How did she go from a warm climate, to an arctic tundra? This blizzard had been going on for days. If she had to stay at this inn for another day, she would scream. Being the famous Titania had its disadvantages.<p>

Erza was tired of the doting and the petting and the overall fussing of the inn staff. However, she did get everything at half price. She'd been searching for two months, which meant that she only had three months left of free time to look for Lucy. Erza couldn't waste anymore time here. Biting her lip, she went to her room and started packing what she had taken out of her suitcases. As she did so, the ruby sapphire -which she had set in a wire holding then strung around her neck- slipped out of her shirt to dangle in open air.

Frustrated, she yanked it over her head and slammed it down on the bedside table. It was an annoying thing with a will of its own. It always found a way from under her shirt and took every chance to do so. It turned warm in cold temperatures and cool in hot ones. At night, it gave off a soft glow that allowed her to see a few feet in front of her. It was like a living thing and it gave her a creepy feeling and if she lost it on accident, she always knew where to find it -like it was calling her to it. She didn't dare leave it anywhere on purpose, for fear that the 'call' it gave her would drive her crazy.

"Now you stay there and behave. I won't forget you." Yes. Yes she talked to the gemstone -a lot. It seemed like if she didn't talk to it and explain what she was doing, it would panic and start calling out to her. There wasn't a smidgen of evidence that the gemstone was a normal gemstone, no matter how Erza looked at it. She finished packing her bags without the stone calling out and ate dinner downstairs in silence as well. It was slowly getting used to the way she did things.

That night, she slept without the stone around her neck. It never called, but glowed softly as it always did. Erza dreamt of where she would go next and pretended to find Lucy. As soon as she grabbed Lucy to move her out of the way of the enemy's killing blow, she started screaming. It was a high pitched note that sounded weird coming from her best friend. She snapped her eyes open when her ears popped from the sound and discovered that it hadn't been Lucy screaming, but the stone.

The stone was gone from the bedside table and her door was hanging open. Erza quickly switched from pyjamas to her Flight armor and was out of the room in a flash. The person that had taken the gemstone was on the main floor and just leaving through the door. She came to a screeching halt. "You there, halt!" She roared. Whoever it was panicked when they saw her and ran. "Oh no you don't." Erza growl and was through the door before anyone in the room could say or do anything. She tackled the thief easily, and they went rolling downhill in the snow. The blizzard was still raging about.

The thief went very still when they felt the tip of her blade at their neck. Erza's bushy tail swished back and forth in irritation. "You have something of mine. I want it back." She held out a hand. The person's hood had been thrust back in their tumble downhill and she could clearly see that the thief was female and maybe fifteen, though that might be stretching it. Slowly, the girl put the stone in Erza's hand and the screaming stopped.

Erza closed her hand around it and then held it up so that the girl could see it clearly. "Do you know what this is?"

"An expensive stone?" The girl answered instantly. Now that she could see better -thanks to the stone- she saw that the girl was closer looking to twelve.

"It might be. I wouldn't know. But this isn't a stone or a gem. It _dangerous_. It's alive. If I had let you taken it, it would have driven you insane and possibly killed you." The girl was frightened beyond her wits. "Where are your parents?"

"I haven't any. They both died a long time ago." The girl was obedient enough, mostly because she didn't want to die.

"If you parents are dead, shouldn't you be at an orphanage?" The reequip mage asked, putting the blade back in its holding place and standing up. She helped the girl to her feet, but didn't let go.

The girl looked down. "I was at one, but then I got adopted almost instantly." She started.

"Then why aren't you with your new family?" The red head pressed. She was going to get answers.

"It's not a family. It's a brothel." It took a moment for Erza to get what the girl was talking about. Brothels hadn't been around for centuries, well, legally anyway.

"But you're what, twelve?" Erza asked, astonished.

"Thirteen. Nowadays, there are older men who like playing with children." Erza couldn't tell if the girl's shaking was due to the cold or shuddering from memories. Speaking of the cold, she was _freezing_. She scooped the girl up into her arms and changed into her Black Wing armor. "What are you- Kyaa!" Erza took off and flew all the way to the top where the inn was. The door was opened by the force of her wings and she entered the warm room -door closing behind her from the air pressure. Anyone near her backed away.

Erza turned to the person managing the front desk. "Bring the special up to my room as soon as you can please." And then she went up to her room, still carrying the girl who was clinging onto her.

"Y-yes Titania. Right away." Erza heard the woman call. She set the girl down on her bed and changed back into her pyjamas.

"Now," Erza said, turning to face the small girl. "What's your name?"

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><p>Sorry it's so short -_-' I didn't mean for it to be, but I had a deadline to meet.<p>

For those who don't remember what the **Flight** armor is, it's the cheetah looking outfit she wears when facing Racer.

Thanks for being patient everyone. ^/ . \^ Don't forget to REVIEW!


	21. Abandoned Puppy

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>YES! I didn't skip! I love it when I don't skip a weekend. Now if only I could do it every weekend then I'd feel really good. I bet you guys didn't see any of what you're about to read coming. ENJOY and REVIEW when you're done!<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 21- Abandoned Puppy<strong>

"My name?" The girl asked, nervously fidgeting with the clasp on her cloak.

"Yes, your name." Erza clarified, waiting.

"Why do you want to know it?" She wouldn't look at the fierce red head, but at the floor.

"I would like to be able to call you something. 'Thief' is hardly a name." Why did she look so familiar?

It was warm in the inn, made even warmer by the cloak. So the girl took it off and laid it down next to her, revealing long blue hair. "Wendy?" The girl froze and slowly turned around.

"How do you know that name?" She asked, voice shaking.

"Wendy, you're in my guild. Did something hit you in the head?" Erza now came over and started probing her head. She struggled.

"Stop! I'm not Wendy! My name is Kaizoku dammit." The thief waved her hands around to swat the red head's hands away.

"Isn't Kaizoku a boy's name?" Erza asked, propping a hand on her hip.

A really offended look crossed the thief's face. "That's because I _am_ a boy!" Erza laughed at the expression on Kaizoku's face.

"If that's true, then why do you look like Wendy?" Erza challenged.

"Because she's my twin!" Then, realizing he'd said something he hadn't intended, Kaizoku slapped both hands over his mouth and backed up until he reached a wall, then slid down to the floor. He looked like he was going to cry.

"Kaizoku?" Erza asked, hoping he wouldn't cry. She never knew what to do when she saw someone crying. "Kaizoku, don't cry. Tell me what's wrong. I know Wendy, so it's okay to tell me anything." Was that what she was supposed to say? She went over and sat next to the boy.

"How do you know Wendy?" He asked.

"She' joined my guild, Fairy Tail, a little while ago after a job we did together. She found out that Cait Shelter, the guild she had joined in the beginning, only consisted of her, the master, and Charle." Erza explained, remembering that day. There had been a lot of tears then.

"What happened to Grandeeney?" The boy asked.

"From what I know, all dragons disappeared on the seventh day in the seventh month, in the year 777." She turned to Kaizoku. "Now, explain why you're not with Wendy if you're her twin."

"Our parents died when we were really young. Grandeeney found us and took us in. She began to teach us magic, only I was completely hopeless at learning. Wendy seemed to have a knack for dragon slayer magic, so of course, she was the favored student. I knew that Wendy was safe with Grandeeney, so I ran away." He explained, examining the floor.

"At some point, I was caught and put into an orphanage, where I was adopted by the owner of the brothel." Seeing Erza's questioning look, he explained, "It has both sexes for those men and women who prefer the same sex." Erza nodded in understanding. "I stayed there from age four to-." He counted on his fingers. "eleven. So eight years. The people who bought me were always creepy old men. I ran away at the beginning of my twelfth year and have been on the streets since then."

"And you've survived by stealing I assume?" She cocked and eyebrow and the boy nodded. "Well," She sighed. "I can't just leave you by yourself when you're related to one of my friends."

Kaizoku looked up at her in astonishment and incredulity. "What? But I tried to steal that thing from you." He pointed to the gemstone she was still holding in her hand.

"True, but I can hardly blame you." Erza got to her feet at the same time someone knocked at her door.

"The food's here Miss." Said the maid through the door.

Erza answered it and took the tray the food was on. "Could you bring a pallet up and some extra blankets? I would appreciate it."

The maid dipped in a curtsy. "Yes Miss." And she scuttled away. Erza closed her door and turned with the food in hand.

"Here." She set the tray on his lap. "Eat."

The boy didn't need to be told twice. He attacked it like it was going to run away if he didn't eat it quick enough. "Slow down little man. The foods not going anywhere but in your belly."

He did slow down a little bit, only to speed up again. She didn't try to warn him again because the maid was back with the pallet and blankets. Erza was busy setting those out and by the time she finished, Kaizoku had eaten everything on the plate. "You'll sleep here tonight." She pointed to the pallet. "Tomorrow we're leaving even if this snowstorm is still going on."

He nodded and Erza left to return the plate. When she got back, she found Kaizoku fast asleep on the pallet. Erza laid his cloak next to him and then got in her own bed. Before she forgot, she put the stone around her neck again and turned out the lamp. It didn't take long before she fell asleep.

The next morning, when she opened her eyes, she nearly had a heart attack because Kaizoku's face was right in front of hers and way too close. "Gah!" He jerked away before she could hit him.

"Sorry. You were mumbling about something and I was trying to hear what you were saying."

He explained hastily.

"Wha?" She still wasn't completely coherent as she sat up and sneezed. Erza always sneezed in the morning when she woke up. It was quite annoying really. "Go order breakfast Kaizoku, while I take a shower."

"Uh, right." He turned to the door and exited the room, leaving Erza alone to take her shower. When she came back out, there was a plate with pancakes and strips of bacon waiting for her. She took the plate from the bedside table while equipping her standard armor and sat on the bed to eat. Looking around for Kaizoku, she found him sitting on his pallet in the corner with his knees drawn up to his chest.

The plate next to him was empty, the food having all been scarfed down the moment he had a hand free. Now that he wasn't wearing his cloak, Erza saw just how skinny he was. Kaizoku was twig skinny and looked very malnourished for someone his age. She reached into her breastplate and pulled out a small sack that clinked. One handed, she dumped the contents onto the bed and counted out some coins, then called Kaizoku over.

"Here." She dropped the handful of coins into his hands and he stared at them. "Go get some more food for yourself to eat. We need to pack some fat onto you if you're going to be traveling with me." He closed his hands over the coins and nodded before leaving again.

While she ate, and waited for Kaizoku to return, she looked outside. It was still snowing fat groups of snowflakes, but gently. She would be able to see where she was going. Good. Hopefully, it would stay that way. Kaizoku came in a few minutes later with three waffles on his plate, five strips of bacon, and about three scrambled eggs all doused in syrup with a big cup of orange juice to wash it all down.

"Don't scarf, or else you'll get sick and throw it all back up. You don't want to waste a good meal do you?" Erza smiled at him and got to her feet. "I'll be right back."

She picked up Kaizoku's first plate and went downstairs to return the empty dishes. Then she requested some food to be packed up for her to take with her and looked at the inn's convenience store. She found a backpack that Kaizoku could use and some other small things. It was a little harder to find some clothes that would fit the boy because the store was limited in clothing selection, but she managed to find three whole outfits.

Upon returning to her room, she found Kaizoku had taken care of his dishes and was dozing in the corner where his pallet was. As soon as she closed the door, Kaizoku jerked awake and stared up at her. "Why are you doing this?"

She slowly arched an eyebrow as she stared back. "What brought _that_ on?" She finally asked, and walked over to the bed to begin packing everything neatly into Kaizoku's backpack.

"It doesn't make sense. What do you gain by doing this? Most people would turn me in for stealing. Why didn't you?" He asked, leaning forward.

"I'm doing this because Wendy would kill me if she knew I abandoned her brother and I didn't turn you in because you're just an abandoned puppy that nobody seems to want to love." Erza stopped packing and went to stand in front of Kaizoku. Then she crouched in front of him and put a hand on his head. He involuntarily flinched out of habit. "And I'm sure Wendy would love to see you Kaizoku."

He opened his eyes in surprise and looked at the red head in front of him. She was smiling. "Go take a bath before we leave." Erza got up and tossed a pair of clothes at him. Kaizoku caught them easily, but continued to watch her work. When she noticed that he wasn't moving, she turned, frowning. "Go. Shoo. Shower, now." She flapped her hand at him and he shooed into the bathroom hastily.

Erza sighed as she watched him retreat. He really was like an abandoned puppy, timid and very wary and untrusting of people. All she had to do was coax him out of his shell -slowly. One paw at a time. But that would take a while, and the only time she would be able to do that is on the road. Puppies needed lots of care in order to grow up strong and healthy -abandoned puppies were even more work because they had to go through the whole process of being able to trust people again.

This particular puppy had been abandoned for a long time, and abused along the way, so it would take doubly long to gain his trust. Kaizoku was a big puppy, so he would need a lot more care. But he was a tougher puppy than most because he'd had to fend for himself when he was abandoned. The fact that he was still here told her that he still didn't completely hate people, otherwise he'd have left last night.

When Kaizoku came out of the bathroom, Erza couldn't help but "Awww!" at him. The long sleeved shirt she'd picked out for him was black and grey striped and a size too big for him. His skinny frame made it seem even bigger, so one side slipped over his shoulder. His pants fit around his hips just fine, but they were too long and he stepped on them. He really did look like a cute puppy.

After much readjusting to his clothes, and tying his hair up so that it was out of his face, they loaded Erza's rented SE carriage and set off for the bottom of the mountain where they would hopefully be free of this white sticky stuff.

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><p>Told you you'd never seen it coming. Truth to be told, I got the idea from one of the reviews I read. I'm not sure if the next one will have Lucy in it or not. It might be about Happy again. REVIEW! ^ . \^ Thanks!


	22. Hisoka's Training

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>I almost didn't upload this because my connection has been extremely bad the past few days. Sorry if I worried anyone. I didn't try Sunday because I wasn't home, so I tried it yesterday, but the connection was bad, so I tried today. It took awhile, but I got it. Anyways this chapter is half about Hisoka and half about Lila and Happy. Hope you like it. Don't forget to review when you're finished reading.<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 22- Hisoka's Training<strong>

"Have you found anything yet?" The blonde girl asked the blue and black cat. They'd been wandering around in the jungle for about a week and a half to two weeks. Lila wasn't quite sure, because she lost count of the days they'd been in here.

"Nope. It looks like more trees and plants and that's it." Happy reported, landing in front of Lila on the horse who'd gotten used to a flying cat by now.

Lila groaned. They were running low on rations, though they had plenty of water from the evening rains, and she didn't know how to hunt for food. Foraging was hazardous, not only because of who knows what kind of animals, but because the plants were picky. Luckily, she'd seen that they had personalities of their own in her crystal ball before they'd done anything to the plants.

She looked up and tried to figure out the position of the sun. It was somewhere between midday and three. "Hey, Li-chan? Isn't that the tree we passed this morning?" Happy asked, pointing to a twisted, gnarled canopy tree. Her eye actually twitched.

They were going in circles. This was the fourth time they'd found this same tree. She'd even marked it in case there were actually more of the same tree. There was the red strip of cloth, tied onto the lower branch in a slipknot tie with one end shorter than the other exactly one hand length from the trunk.

"We're staying here Happy, until we have an inkling as to which way we go." She dismounted from the horse and picketed it in a grove full of new, small plants. The baby plants couldn't hurt them and the adult plants didn't care if they're eaten -it meant more room for them to take over.

"At this rate, we'll never find my cousin." Lila admitted to Happy, who was randomly gliding around.

"Of course we won't find her, you're sitting here complaining instead of looking for her." Happy had gained a weird sense of humor somewhere along the road.

Lila smiled at him. "You're right, but we do have to let the horse rest first."

"Yeah, true." During the fifteen minute wait for the horse, Happy ran around and did kitty things: chasing bugs, playing with Lila's hand as she rough housed with him, and giving himself yet another bath.

When it was finally time to go, the horse properly rested, they took a course that was different than any other they'd taken. An hour later, they found themselves in the exact same spot. Lila's eye had a severe twitching fit when they arrived. There _had_ to be a magic trap on this tree, otherwise she wouldn't keep coming back here every time she left. Whatever magic it was, she wasn't going to be bested again, not when she used her crystal ball to See where she had to step. But that would have to wait till tomorrow because it was too late in the day to continue on and her horse was getting tired.

Lila muttered to herself as she unsaddled and groomed the horse, and made plans as to how she would go about getting through the magic circle. At least she would finally have something exciting to do with her crystal.

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><p>"Why am I doing this again? I see no point in messing with an innocent little girl." The dark haired boy asked his dark skinned teachers.<p>

One smiled. She was the oldest of his teachers and the one that loved to talk in riddles. She never outright said anything, which made training harder than it already was. "It is how you will find your way."

Hisoka instantly turned to the shortest of his teachers for translation. She sighed. "She means that it's for practicing your illusionary magic."

The necromancer gave them 'the look', the one that said 'Yeah. R_ii_ght.' and said. "Uh-huh. So why did we chose a little girl to do this with?" He gestured to the pool of water where the image of a girl and a blue and black cat was shone.

"She was the first one we could find. She's not the only _queck_ in the forest." The youngest of his teachers told him.

"And how does this help me with learning to use my necromancer magic?" He pressed.

"You only have so much to use, a trick helps with hiding."Jhanae, the oldest teacher, said.

Hisoka turned, again, to Mihio, the translator. "It's to help conserve your magic. Raising and controlling the dead takes a lot of magic. With this illusionary magic, you can make your opponent _think_ there are more dead than you actually raised."

"But if it's an illusion and they're not real, wouldn't the one I'm fighting figure it out quickly if the fake ones go right through them?"

Comaha, the youngest, smiled deviously. "We're not there yet, Hisoka. That comes after you've mastered this type of illusion."

"What does?" The three girls just shook their heads smiling.

He didn't bother pressing the case because he knew that they wouldn't talk no matter what he did. The women here were tight-lipped when it came to things they didn't want to tell, and no amount of prying would get them to say anything they didn't want to tell.

"Anyways, let's pause it right here because she doesn't look to be going anywhere until morn." Mihio said, getting to her feet. "Let's work on the next lesson."

"Where's Lucy?" Hisoka finally asked. "I haven't seen her for the last week."

His three teachers looked at each other, then at him and said, "Training with the _Danai_." And they left, expecting him to follow.

After Lucy had first talked with these people's leader, the _Danai_, she had gotten them to agree to teach both her and Hisoka. She'd also found out that her father had been the descendent of one of the important families of this tribe. He'd run away because he hadn't wanted to spend his life cooped up in the jungle. That, and he hadn't wanted to marry his second cousin who everyone swore was insane. Soon after leaving, his mother died on a hunting trip and his father, distraught at losing his wife and only son, disappeared into the jungle. His body was found days later at the base of a rotting tree. He'd drunk a poison flower's nectar, as was the traditional way to commit suicide.

The people were happy that that branch wasn't completely lost to the tribe. The _nobell_ families, as they're called, were few and losing one was a tragedy among the people. Now, though, the lost branch was found and in training. Hisoka, despite all the attention he was getting from the women wanting to train him, was feeling a little lonely. He'd gotten used to having Lucy as a training partner; for all she was slow when it came to weapons and hand-to-hand combat, she was best at learning magic. She was good at breaking things down and explaining them in a simpler way when he couldn't quite get what was being said.

But up until about a week ago, they had been training to use the same kinds of magic. Then they'd had to go down their separate paths; she the gypsy sun thief, and him the necromancer. But during their time training, Lucy had improved greatly with weapons. She liked duel wielding with a short sword and a dagger best. If a small scimitar was available, she would use it. Hisoka preferred a broad sword or long sword to a scimitar, but he could use most any weapon available if need be.

Sighing at their games, he followed his teachers out of the hut into the humid jungle air. He'd started dressing like the locals about a week after starting training, wearing no shirt and something looking like shorts slash underwear. In the month that he'd gone without a shirt, he'd gotten nearly as dark as the tree bark, which was quite an accomplishment considering how pasty white he originally was. He usually burned easily too, but the locals had slathered him with this weird paste the first time he'd gotten a sun burn and he'd been only tanning ever since. Whatever they used, it worked. He assumed it had magical properties in it because he still wasn't burning.

The women of the village all wore something similar to a two piece bathing suit and a length of cloth tied around their hips. Nobody wore any kind of shoe, so by this time, Hisoka and Lucy both had calloused feet. His grandmother, Uma, was assimilating just as they were, and right now, she was with Lucy, helping with her training. She must have thought that he was in good care, otherwise she wouldn't have left him alone with his teachers.

"Hey, _Kikai_," He said the Thesian word for teacher. "What are we doing now?" He easily caught up to them and walked behind them, as was respectful of a man in this village.

"We will tell you when we are closer." Comaha told him, so Hisoka was silent. He knew that they would answer when they said they would. In order to learn anything, he'd had to learn fast how they operated, and patience was the key. That and secrets. They loved to keep secrets from him.

They walked to the outer edges of the village boarder where there was a medium sized running waterfall. It was a slow moving current, but it was deep, which was good for meditation purposes. "Why are we coming here?"

The girls giggled. "You ask many questions _Koha._" Mihio called him the Thesian word for student.

"That's how we learn things where I come from. We ask questions to get a better understanding of things." Hisoka explained.

"Ah, but to ask questions is saying that you do not trust your teachers to tell everything for you." Jhanae explained to Hisoka as all three then turned around at the water's edge.

"I actually kind of understood that." Hisoka mussed, then waited for instructions. They usually only came here for meditation in the mornings and before every meal.

"So what now?" He finally asked when they'd been standing in silence for more than a couple minutes.

All three smiled, before Comaha started the lesson. "The hardest part of using magic is controlling it." She started.

"This falls true to all magic." Jhanae put in.

"So in order to more easily control one's own magic, you have to find the method that works best for you." Comaha made it sound easy, but then again, all three of them could convince anyone that eating a poisoned salamander would give you luck. The only luck one could get out of that situation is if one survived.

"And how would I do that?" He pressed. This was taking too long.

"More questions. Patience _Koha_." Jhanae smiled.

The thing about patience is that you have to have some in order to _be_ patient. Hisoka had been running on low patience for a while now, so he had a very limited supply and making patience wasn't something a person could do in a snap.

"The only way you can control your magic more effectively is up to you. You must find what works best. That is what we will be working on from now on until you find it." Mihio told him. _This_ was going to take a while. He sighed and sat cross-legged on the ground to think.

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><p>Yay. I'm glad I got to upload this week. I was worried I wouldn't be able to with my connection. Thanks for reading everyone! Two cookies to whoever guesses who's in the next chapter. REVIEW! ^ . \^


	23. Training Away For A Day

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

Yeah! Weekly update. I'm 90% sure that I'll have next week's up on time too because I finished this chapter early and started 24. I'm proud of myself. This chapter is a longer one than that of the previous few, which is also an accomplishment for myself; to have finished early_ and_ be long? I have to congratulate myself because no one else is here to do it for me TT _ TT. Enough moping about! I've brought you an exciting chapter. Don't forget to REVIEW!

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><p><strong>Chapter 23- Training Away For A Day<strong>

Training was harsher than ever. Lucy and Hisoka got up before dawn to meditate and work on weapons, then they had to figure out where to move on the model for strategic training that Uma set up before they could eat breakfast. After breakfast, they had three hours of weapons training with Uma, the village _Danai_, and Hisoka's _Kikai, _who taught them short spear wielding. Lucy, too, had adopted the villager's way of dressing and she was getting a dark tan and parts of her hair were getting lighter. She swore up and down that parts were getting darker, too, but Uma said she was seeing things.

After the weapons training, Lucy would practice her gypsy magic and Hisoka went with his own teachers until lunch where they would meditate again before getting a bite of food. After lunch, Lucy would have an hour to read from the _Kequesix_ and study past Sun Thieves. Uma also gave her several books and scrolls to look at. They were Uma's own family history of gypsies and what they left behind. When her reading hour was up, she would begin her thief training. Hisoka just kind of disappeared after lunch with his teachers. Both Uma and the _Danai_ helped with both parts even though they knew little of the other's magic.

It turned out that some of the people in the village, the _Danai_ included, were Sun Thieves. Before the evening meal was served, Lucy and Hisoka washed, meditated, and had to solve another strategic puzzle in order to eat, and then Lucy had to read some more before she fell asleep only to get up what seemed like, to her, minutes later to start all over again. She was currently learning how to make magic into something solid. Like any street thief knew, what was stolen could always be given back, and solidifying magic was the easiest way to do it.

The _Danai_ showed her how to do it first before starting to go through the steps. Lucy watched as little beads of liquid appeared like sweat on her hand, then rolled to the center of her palm, solidifying into an orange crystal that she then tossed to Lucy who caught it and examined it closely before handing it back. The _Danai_ took it and in a short five seconds, it had melted back into her hand.

"What did you just do?" Lucy asked, pointing to the now empty hand.

The _Danai_ smiled. "I reabsorbed it. It's how we steal magic in the first place."

"Were you trying to steal magic from me when we first met then? When you touched me?" Lucy asked.

"I was testing, yes. If you'd been lying, I'd have taken all your magic and you'd have been killed by my warriors."

"How did you know I wasn't lying?" Lucy was confused now.

"Sun Thieves cannot steal from each other because we all have an internal chest where we put all we've stolen. The chest is locked to everyone but the owner." The _Danai_ explained.

"Why do we need a chest to put the magic in?"

The _Danai_ put her hands on her hips and frowned. "We can only use one magic at a time Lucy. It's extremely hard to control two different kinds of magic at once. Now mediums on the other hand are a different story. Mediums help to control magic that's difficult to deal with like you're friend Hisoka. I suppose his _Kikai_ are teaching him how to find a medium and use it right now."

"Is necromancy that hard to control? It's just a bunch of deceased bodies right?"

"Yes Lucy," Uma answered. "But it's one thing to control a single body, and something entirely different to control multiple bodies. Hisoka also has to deal with spirits that might come back when he raises the bodies. Disturbed graves make for restless spirits, and restless spirits make trouble." The older woman shook her head. "I wonder who has the worst end of it, you or Hisoka. If it were just your gypsy magic alone, I'd say Hisoka, but you have Star Gazing _and_ Sun Thievery. Sun Thieving is hard by itself, but both? That's a handful."

"I'd say they're about even." The _Danai_ put in. "Controlling stolen magic is hard because it always wants to be used every time you use magic. I guess we _should_ find you a medium before we get into anything bigger. Anyway, let's start with solidifying your magic before it gets any later."

"Lucy, where did you get that bruise?" Uma pointed to her cheek.

"Oh, this?" She probed the faint mark and felt the throb. "I got that last night during another Waking Dream. I accidentally tripped and hit myself on a chair." Lucy explained simply. "What?"

Uma was staring with tight lips and the _Danai_ had gone pale, which was quite an accomplishment for being so dark skinned. "Are you saying that you can touch things in your Waking Dreams?" Uma uttered gravely.

Her teacher's tone made her a bit worried. "Yes. I figured that out when I started having them on the road trip here. Is something wrong with being able to touch things in Waking Dreams?" Lucy wasn't sure she really wanted to find out.

Uma seemed very disturbed by this news; it was the _Danai_ who answered. "I don't know all there is to know about Star Gazers, but I do know that it takes years for one to be able to touch things in a Waking Dream."

Lucy was silent for a long time. "So," She said slowly. "what you're saying is that I'm doing something that I shouldn't be doing?"

Both of her teachers nodded. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No." Uma finally said. Her voice was stiff. "It just means that you're progressing faster than we can keep up, and if you get too far ahead, we won't be able to help you gain control of your magic."

"I think part of it might be the amount of magic that has been stolen too. She hasn't gained complete control over them yet so when she has a Waking Dream, it takes over there and flares out." The _Danai_ speculated.

"For all it's worth, I can attack people too, if that means anything." Lucy put in, trying to help.

It was silent for an entire minute, then the _Danai_ took her by the arm and began walking out of the village to the tree house. Uma was right next to her. "We need to teach you how to solidify magic _now_." The _Danai_ said. Lucy knew then that she was in for some vigorous training.

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><p>It had been a week since she was taken away from the village to have her training, and she was already missing Hisoka. He'd been a lot less brutal with the weapons training than Uma. Today, she got up like usual and as she got ready to start her weapons practice, she stopped and stared at the sword in her hand for a long time. Then, she sheathed the sword and hooked both it and her favorite dagger to her leather belt before leaving at a jogging pace to the village.<p>

Hisoka should have been up by now because she'd gotten him in the habit of getting up when she did to help with her training. It hadn't been intentional, but he'd started getting up earlier to help without Lucy asking for any. She'd been grateful to him for it. Now, she wanted to train with him today. Just him. She decided this on a whim. Maybe they could help each other.

Lucy reached the village by the time she usually started her meditation. The guards let her pass without any trouble, nodding their heads as she went by. As she expected, she found Hisoka in the practice yard, sitting on the ground. He looked up at the sound of her approach and surprise lit his face.

"Lucy, I thought you were training with my grandma and the _Danai_." He was clearly not expecting her to show up.

"I still am. Let's go train by ourselves today. Maybe we can help each other." She suggested, leaning over her knees and inhaling deeply.

"What? Leave? But what about the others?" Despite his words, he was inching towards his long sword.

Seeing this, Lucy grinned and looked up at him. "What about the others?"

Hisoka smiled and grabbed his sword. They both grabbed a short spear because it was new to them and went into the forest. Lucy called the vines and asked for a lift so they wouldn't be easily trackable. They were willing to take Lucy up but not Hisoka. It took a little talking to convince them to take him up as well.

"Come on. I think you've punished him enough as it is. I've been picking debris out of his hair for the last month. I'm fairly sure that he's learned to ask for permission first by now." When the vines crossed like a humans arms, she smiled. "Please?" The vines made something that look vaguely like a tapping foot. "They want an apology Hisoka."

Hisoka stepped forward and bowed in the Thesian fashion. "I'm sorry that I didn't ask the first time I was here and I promise to always ask for permission first." The vines acted like they were thinking about it before they wrapped themselves around both of them and brought them up.

"Thank you." Lucy said before she started leading the way away from the village. By the time they reached a place far enough away, it was well past the time where they should have been meeting their teachers. "Phew!" Lucy said when they were on the ground again. "Let's rest a bit." She suggested, sitting down and stretching out.

Hisoka sat next to her worn out. "That was a lot of maneuvering."

"Yeah, we're walking back on the ground." Lucy said. "So, what have you been working on lately?" she asked to pass the resting time.

"I've been practicing illusionary magic."

Lucy turned her head to him and frowned. "Why?"

She saw the upward movement of his shoulders. "They said it's to fool the opponent into thinking that I've raised more dead than I actually have. I need to find a medium first though."

"Is that all you've been doing?"

"Pretty much. I just started learning about mediums yesterday and from what they're telling me, it could be anything. I get the concept of one and I'm fairly sure that I could use one instantly, but my problem lies in finding one." Hisoka explained plainly.

Lucy scratched her head and rolled over onto her belly. "Can you explain to me what a medium is supposed to do? The _Danai_ said that I might need one, too, but she didn't go into much detail about it." She started to do push-ups and Hisoka joined her.

"Well, mediums are supposed to help with controlling magic, especially two different kinds at once." He started.

"But I thought that you could only use one at a time?"

"No. It's possible to use several different kinds of magic at once, but it's extremely hard to control, which is why most people just stick to one kind of magic and don't bother learning a second kind." They added a clap into their push-ups. "Mediums are hard to find and most people don't want to take the time to find one for themselves. Mages have gotten extremely lazy in this day and age, it's pitifully sad."

"On average, how long does it take to find a medium?" They stopped the push-ups and started sit-ups.

"Some take months. The longest time ever recorded was three years."

Lucy stopped mid-sit-up and stared at her training partner. "Are you serious?" Hisoka stopped, too, and nodded, staring back. "I don't have that long to find a medium. I only have," She paused and counted on her fingers. "Five months left. That's not a lot of time. I still haven't even worked with my spirits yet." Then she seemed to remember something and twisted, reaching for something on her belt. Hisoka then noticed her key pouch and watched as she drew out her keys and went through them, looking for a specific one.

"Lyra." She called when she found it and a girl with a harp appeared.

"Hello Lucy-sama." She called cheerfully. "You haven't called me out in a long time."

Lucy rubbed the back of her head and looked sheepish. "Sorry Lyra, I've been extremely busy and my keys have kind of been under house arrest by my teacher."

"Oh. Well, that aside, what do you want me to sing?"

"Anything is fine as long as it's upbeat. Hisoka and I will be practicing with weapons while you do 'kay? So be sure to amplify your voice a little. Not too much though because we kind of snuck off to do this so we don't want to be found out."

"Alrighty!" Lyra found a place to sit while Lucy and Hisoka did stretches before taking up their spears. They spaced themselves two spear lengths from each other and began their practice. They both listened to Lyra's voice as they practiced and became soothed by it. Without noticing, they were practicing to the beat of her song. When she ended her song, they ended their practice.

"I think that's the fastest we've ever been with these spears." Lucy pointed out between breaths. Hisoka just nodded in agreement and went to sit down.

"What have you been doing this last week that's taken you away from the village?" He asked when he got his breathing under control.

"Me? I've been working on solidifying magic. Just as a thief can steal something, they can give it back, too. The _Danai_ said the easiest way to do that was to solidify it and hand it over. The stolen magic, because it's so atoned to the person it was stolen from, will melt right back into the owner's skin without any help from me."

Lucy held out her hand and breathed deeply, concentrating on the center of her palm. Hisoka watched as small droplets of white condensed on her hand and rolled to the center. Just as they all congealed into one liquid ball, it popped and disappeared.

"Dammit." Lucy cursed. "That's as far as I've been able to get with the lesson. I've been at it for a whole week and that's all I can do. I still don't know how I can steal someone else's magic though. The _Danai_ said that it was the same as absorbing the solidified magic back in, but I don't know how to do either one."

"That's because you have to do everything differently Lucy." Both Lucy and Hisoka looked up to find Loke walking towards them.

"Loke! What are you doing here?" She asked him, standing up with hands on hips.

She saw him smile. "Don't worry, I came on my own."

"Why?" She pressed.

"Well, for one I wanted to see my sweet princess." He suddenly had his arms around her and was going in for the kiss. Lucy put a hand under his chin and pushed up and away.

"Yeah, uh-huh. Start talking mister or I'll send you back by force." She threatened. Lucy knew that he was only playing, but she didn't want Hisoka to get the wrong idea.

"Okay, okay." Loke laughed as he let go of her. "I came to help you train. I _am_ the strongest combat spirit on the celestial plains you know."

"You can help me train? I need help with my _magic_, not my combat skills Loke." She poked him in the side.

"You forget I do both."

Lucy puffed out her cheeks in a childish manner and glowered at the Leo spirit who just smiled back. "Is Virgo here too then?"

"No, it's just me." He continued to smile.

"Leo!" Lyra had just noticed the spirit and jumped him. "I haven't seen you in such a long time. How have you been?"

"Oh, hi Lyra. I've been quite bored actually, because our lovely mistress hasn't called on us for an awfully long time. I was starting to think she'd forgotten about us." Lucy knew he was purposely trying to make her feel guilty and she threw her hands up.

"I blame Uma for that. She took away my keys. You know this already Loke. I told you last time, remember?"

"You only said that you were training, not that the old woman had taken away your keys. Why did you let her take them away in the first place?" Loke set Lyra aside and turned back to Lucy. "At least let me help you now."

Lucy was silent for a long time. It was Hisoka who broke the quiet. "He does have a point Lucy. It's good to get help from someone who's been fighting longer than we have. Maybe he knows a way to find a medium for both of us. It's not a bad idea." Lucy finally sighed in defeat.

"Fine, but you're helping both of us Loke, not just me." She said firmly.

"Yes princess." He bowed mockingly.

"And stop calling me that!"

"But it's more fitting to you now. You _are_ a member of one of the _nobell_ families here." The lion said cheerfully.

Lucy glared mercilessly. "If you knew so much, than why didn't you know about the keys?"

Loke didn't answer.

"Why don't we start before it gets violent?" Hisoka suggested, getting to his feet again and stretching.

"Sure." Lucy ground her teeth in annoyance. "Let's start."

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><p>So? How was it? Next chapter is going to have a lot of fighting in it -training-wise- anyway. Thanks for reading! And don't forget to REVIEW! ^_\^


	24. Familiar Faces

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>500+ reviews, I feel accomplished. Two weekends (or is it three?) in a row <em>and <em> it's a longish chapter. Best part is, I finished this one early and got started on the next one. I'm so glad spring break is finally here. ENJOY! The ending will catch you ALL off guard. ;P Don't forget to Review when you're done reading!

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><p><strong>Chapter 24- Familiar Faces<strong>

Lila got up like she always did and went about her morning routine as normally as she could. Today was the day. She wouldn't let this magic circle to get the best of her. She _would_ pass through and find her cousin. Happy was awakened to the smell of cooking oatmeal. Looking up through sleepy eyes, he spotted Lila tending to a small fire and stirring the contents of the small pot.

He got on his paws, yawned, and stretched before sauntering over to Lila who put down a bowl of oatmeal for him. "Careful, it's hot." She warned as she scooped up some for herself.

Heeding her words, Happy blew on each spoonful before he ate it. "How are we going to get out of here Lila-chan? We keep coming back to the same tree every time we leave." Happy popped out his wings and gave them a few pumps to get the stiffness out, then put them away again.

"There's magic on this tree, or around this area at the very least, which is why we keep coming back here. I'd say it's sensory magic or maybe illusionary magic. I'm going to try and break through it." Lila said as she packed things up into her bag and saddled the horse.

Once she had put out the fire and gotten the horse ready to go, she asked the tree if she could climb it a little so that she could get on her horse, and it complied after a little coaxing. After she was safely atop the calm animal, she brought out her crystal ball and breathed deep to concentrate.

"Happy, I need you to lead the horse forward please. I can't do my magic and instruct the horse at the same time. I'm not very skilled yet." The blonde girl admitted.

"No problem Li-chan." Happy saluted her and tugged on the reins to get the beast to move forward. It did, but a little too jerkily.

"Not so fast Happy, else I'll fall off."

"Sorry." He slowed down to a steady walk and kept silent as Lila fell deep within her crystal ball, the smoky clouds churning restlessly behind the confines of their crystal. She was trying to find where this magic circle was, and if it was around the area, they would be encountering it soon.

About ten minutes later, she found it. It looked like a very blurry curtain in her magical Sight. Nothing on the other side was clear at all. She inhaled another deep breath and started to work on find a way to get past it. Lila threw her magic at it, seeking any weakness it might have. There! It was a well stitched and almost hidden part of the spell that held it together. Now that she'd found it, she worked quickly to undo the stitching and unravel the spell. It fell apart easily and disappeared, making the horse whinny and dance away, and snapping Lila out of her trance. In the moment before her concentration was shattered, she caught a glimpse of two people running somewhere, or away from something, she wasn't sure.

Happy was calming down the horse, who was shaking noticeably, when Lila could finally tell up from down again. She immediately saw why the horse had a conniption when she unraveled the spell. A ravine was carved into the ground about six to eight feet wide and who knows how deep, and the horse had almost walked straight into it. Lila gulped and shook slightly as she put her crystal ball back into its cushioned box.

"It appeared out of nowhere Li-chan. There was a wavering in the air and then 'POOF', giant hole in the ground, and we were about to walk straight into it." Happy told her while she finished packing her crystal ball away.

"Maybe that's why they had the spell there in the first place -so that others coming by here wouldn't fall in. But then why would I not be able to get out if that were the case?" The blonde murmured half to Happy, half to herself.

"Lila-chan?" Happy asked, concerned and confused.

"Nevermind Happy. Let's get going." Lila took the reins again and jumped the horse across the ravine. It wasn't a hard jump, and they landed easily on the other side. Lila didn't know exactly where she was going, she just knew that she had to go this way to find her cousin.

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><p>"Dammit!" Lucy cursed as the magic disappeared into her skin again. "Why can't I get this? I understand the concepts of how to solidify it, so why can't I do it?"<p>

"Stop trying so hard. Remember what I told you earlier? You do things differently Lucy because you're neither a full Star Gazer nor a full Sun Thief. You're half of both, so you have to do things differently." Loke said as he helped Hisoka with his necromancy. They'd managed to get Hisoka to raise a dead squirrelish looking thing, that was when Lucy had edged away to a flat boulder near the water's edge.

It was just too distracting to have dead things crawling around where she was trying to concentrate. The river was wide, but it was extremely shallow and very clear. There was a lot of hand sized, smooth, water-worn stones on its floor. She grabbed several of the rocks and started to stack them out of boredom.

If only she had something to work with, something that was already solidified. Lucy stopped what she was doing, just froze and stared at the rock that was already in her hand. _That's it!_ She realized. She didn't need to solidify the magic, there were plenty of solid things in the world already, why add more to its burden? If she put the magic into something that was already solid, then all she had to be was the channel.

Lucy breathed deep and concentrated only on the stone in her hands. Instead of having the magic form a glob of condensed magic in the palm of her hand, she imagined it going into the rock to pool there and be safely held by the solid mass of earth. When she felt that there was no more of the darker blue tasting magic, she snipped the connection and made sure that it was 'closed'. Upon focusing back in on the material world, she saw a dark blue stone in her hand. It was the same shape it had been and the same texture, but it was a different color and perhaps even a bit lighter.

Grinning mercilessly, Lucy stood up and turned around. She threw the stone with full force at Loke's head, expecting him to sense it and dodge. But he didn't sense it and didn't dodge, the end result left a purple knot at the back of his head.

"Hey!" Loke yelled when the stone connected. "What are you doing Lucy?" He turned to her to find her smirking mirthlessly, like a cat. While Loke glared, Hisoka picked up the stone that had been thrown and he grinned.

"Well done Lucy. You did it." Hisoka congratulated, holding up the stone. He threw it back and she caught it easily. She'd gotten a lot better at catching and throwing things, whereas before she could almost never hit anything and most always dropped whatever she was catching.

"Yeah, but now I have to figure out how to absorb it again." She called back across the small clearing.

"I _told_ you that you do everything differently. You just have to figure that part out on your own." Loke called. "Don't throw anything else at me. That hurt." And he turned his back on her again.

Since he said 'don't', she picked up a normal stone and threw it at him. He sensed it this time and caught it easily. "What did I just asked nicely of you Lucy my dear?" The Leo asked.

"You didn't ask nicely." She retorted, planting her hands on her hips.

Loke sighed and dropped the rock. "Please?"

"Fine, I won't throw anymore stones at you." Lucy then turned back to the stream and sat cross legged. "Now, how do I reabsorb the magic?"

She tried to do a reversal on what she'd done to put the magic in the stone by imagining it pooling in her body where her other magic was, but that was unsuccessful. Nothing happened. Great. Lucy focused on absorbing the magic again for three solid hours. It was around midday when she finally gave up.

Grumbling in frustration, she tossed the stone over her shoulder, not caring where it landed, which was in Loke's face. "OW!" Upon hearing him, she slowly turned her head to glare inadvertently at her spirit. "I thought you said you weren't going to throw any stones at me again." He obviously didn't catch onto her mood.

"What do you want Loke? I'm in a bad mood." Lucy said icily.

Loke raised his eyebrows in amusement. "I can see that. I _was_ going to ask you if you wanted something to eat, but it seems that you can't be bothered right now. Good-bye." And with that, he turned and waved over his shoulder, a dismissal.

After a long minute of deliberating, the celestial mage got to her feet and dragged them over to where Hisoka and Loke were. There, she flopped onto the ground, face first and groaned. "I cant' do it."

"Do what?" Hisoka asked, taking a bit of apple and leaning back on his free arm, legs crossed. He was sitting right next to Lucy.

"Reabsorb the magic I put in the stone. I can't do it. I've tried everything I can think of." Lucy told the dirt.

"Yes, but that's the answer. You've only tried everything _you've_ thought of. Now you just need to think of the things that you haven't thought about." Loke said, biting into a peach. Both Lucy and Hisoka slowly turned their heads to look at him strangely. "What?"

Lucy just frowned and shook her head before getting ready to push herself upright. "Where in the heck did you get all the food?" There was a very big platter on the ground full of different kinds of food. She grabbed a slice of ham and began eating that.

"Virgo prepared it and left it here." Loke explained.

"Tell her thank you next time you see her then." Lucy then seemed to remember something, and looked around. "Where's Lyra?"

Loke and Hisoka gave her this disbelieving look and then sighed. "You're horrible Lucy." Hisoka stated bluntly. She felt like she'd been theatrically stabbed.

"Lyra left two hours ago." Loke said, adding another stab wound to her imagination. Lucy didn't say anything and, instead, stuffed her face.

"So, how are you two coming along?" Lucy finally asked. They both kind of choked and slowly looked away, depressed almost.

"Not doing any better than I am I see." She concluded.

"I've tried to use this as a medium, but it doesn't seem to work." Hisoka held up his snake pendant.

"Maybe you should ask that demon guy, he might know what to do." Lucy suggested.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Hisoka asked under his breath. "Jon?"

_What?_ Answered an annoyed voice. Hisoka looked straight up and, sure enough, Jon was there, glaring down at him. Lucy and Loke followed his gaze and Lucy nearly had a heart attack. How could he be there so quickly?

"There you are. I wanted to ask you about this." He jangled the pendant about his neck.

Jon dropped down and landed on the ground next to Hisoka. He took the pendant up in a clawed foot and examine it. _What about it?_

"You told me that this thing was a medium between me and my magic, so why can't I use it to control my magic then?" He toyed with the chain holding the pendant.

_You need a different medium for that._ Was the demon's blunt answer.

"Then what's the point of this thing?" Hisoka asked, perplexed.

_I told you the first time that it was the medium that allowed you to _use_ your magic, I never said it _controlled_ it. If that's all you wanted, I'm leaving. _Jon dropped the heavy pendant and, spreading his great wings, was gone in seconds.

"Well that was helpful. I need _two_ mediums instead of one. Great." Hisoka grumbled, grabbing a handful of grapes and shoving them into his mouth.

Suddenly, Loke was tense and staring past his master and Hisoka in expectancy. He was poised so that he may attack or defend at any given moment. Both students followed his gaze. There was nothing, but they could now hear something coming up fast. It sounded like the heavy pounding of an animal's feet. Lucy rested her hand on her spear that was sitting nearby, ready for anything that came at them, and slowly stood up.

Something black and bright blue with wings zoomed into the clearing and crashed into her crying: "LUCY!" The blonde instantly dropped the spear and hugged her favorite blue flying kitty.

"Happy? Why are you here? Is Natsu with you?" She really hoped he wasn't, or else she was screwed. She really wasn't ready to face him yet, even though it'd been seven months since she'd left.

"I missed you so much!" Happy blubbered through sobs. Before anything else could be said, a horse and its small rider came into the clearing.

"Happy! Why-?" The girl cut herself short when she saw who it was "Lucy! Yay! I finally found you!" She hopped off the horse into Lucy's unsuspecting arms and they both tumbled to the ground. Happy had managed to get out of the way just in time.

"Lila? What are you doing here?" Lucy struggled to sit up with the girl in her arms, hugging her close.

"I've been looking for you ever since mommy and daddy died. I didn't want to stay with anyone else and they couldn't find my grandma." She said, eyes filling with water.

Before Lucy could say anything, another voice said, "Lila?" It was heavy disbelief on the edge of incredulity.

The curly hair blonde turned her face to the speaker and her jaw dropped in utter disbelief. Lila snapped her mouth shut and her lip trembled furiously as she really started to cry. "Nii-san! They told me you died with mommy and daddy!" She thrust herself at Hisoka and started sobbing. Hisoka held her tightly and looked like he was going to start crying himself. It was Lucy's turn to be shocked. If those two were siblings, then wasn't Hisoka her cousin as well? And what about Uma?

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><p>I TOLD you it would catch you off guard. Be honest, else I'm worse and surprising people than I thought I was. How did you like THAT for an ending? Now you all have to wait till next week to find out what happens. I'm feeling evil, but I have to do <em>something<em> to make people want to keep reading, not that I really have a problem with readers. REVIEW! And thanks for reading! ^/ _ \^


	25. Family Connections

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>I'm SORRY! Missing last weekend was NOT my fault. I had this chapter all ready to be posted when BOOM! My internet connection decide to crash the day before. I just got it back Thursday. I was worried it would be out longer, but it seems that that isn't the case, thank goodness. Anyways, one of my reviewers from last chapter pointed something out to me about the <em>Danai<em> issue in the last couple chapters. I got that fixed so now it all matches. Thank you for bringing that to my attention whoever said that. Hope you enjoy reading and don't forget to review when you're done please!

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><p><strong>Chapter 25- Family Connections<strong>

Hisoka did start crying, silently. Wide eyed with disbelief and complete relief, he stood there, hugging his sister close and crying without realizing it. Lucy was petting Happy again because he'd crawled into her lap as soon as Lila had vacated it, and was purring _very_ loudly. Loke was nowhere to be seen. The horse was eating the little plants, not caring about the reunion of siblings.

After a little while, Hisoka finally put Lila down and sat, hard. "Where did you go? Mom and dad went looking for you after they dropped me off at grandma's."

"I got on the wrong train and went all the way to Crocus. I tried to go back, but kept getting on trains that went elsewhere. When I finally made it back to Shirotsume, you and mommy and daddy weren't there. Then the services found me and notified me that you all had died. They wanted to give me to grandma Emily and grandpa Gido. I hate them, so I ran away and tried to find cousin Lucy because I didn't know where grandma Uma was. She was gone when I went to the house." Lila explained. Hisoka hugged her again and she sat down in his lap.

"Lila?" Lucy asked tentatively, afraid she was interrupting a moment.

"Yes?" The blonde answered with a small voice, wiping at her eyes.

"Do you remember how we're related again?" She was racking through her brain trying to remember, but she couldn't seem to find a connection.

"Aunt Layla is grandma's other daughter. She had two daughters and a son." Lila explained. "Uncle Arashi died protecting something precious to him. That's what grandma told me anyway." The blonde sniffed and wiped at the last of her tears.

"So how did you get to meet Happy here? And why is he black?" Lucy tugged on a black part of his fur and then continued petting him. He continued to purr loudly and contentedly, acting very much like a happy cat.

Lila giggled a little. "I met him in Clover Town. The people there don't know much about mages because they're out in the middle of nowhere, so when he was flying around, they called him a demon. I found him sulking by a fountain and we've been traveling together ever since. I didn't know we were looking for the same person though."

"And he's black why?" She asked again, holding out her hand to get rid of the excess fur coming out of Happy's coat.

"We kind of had to dye it so that he could walk around in Clover Town without being noticed easily. He hasn't grown it all out of his fur yet." Lila explained, smiling. "Is that food?" She pointed to the platter.

"Yes. Do you want some? It's impossible for the two of us to eat all that by ourselves." Lucy said. "You go eat too Happy." She nudged him over and he went digging for a fish. He found it and sat to start eating it, still purring.

"What have you been doing all this time Lucy? Why did you leave?" Happy asked between bites.

Lucy gave a sad half smile. "I've been training to get stronger so that I'm not such a useless burden to the others." She looked up at the canopy of trees. "As to why I left- they replaced me with Lisanna, so I had to do something to get them to take me back. Lisanna's more useful than I am with them because she's worked with them longer. I've been part of Fairy Tail for -what, a year?- and a member of their team for even less than that. I was a burden, though," She looked down at her hand as she clenched it into a fist. "I guess I might be a little more useful now than I was then."

She was silent for the longest time, then changed the subject. "What about you Happy? I'd have thought nothing could separate you and Natsu."

Happy put on his pouty-angry face, puffing out his cheeks. "Natsu was being pouty and getting more and more boring and he wouldn't play with me. Neither would Erza or Gray or anyone else in the guild as soon as they found out you had gone on a job of your own."

It took a moment for the information to sink in. "Wait, what?" Her voice held a pitch of disbelief.

"Everyone is worried about you Lucy. Natsu would wait for you everyday, the others too, but you never came. I left after the first month of your disappearance." Happy explained, munching another bite of fish.

"What happened to them teaming up with Lisanna?" Lucy was eager to hear the outcome, though she wasn't sure what to expect.

"The job they took went badly and they didn't go on one together again that I know of. They didn't look to be planning to go anywhere when I left." The blue and black kitty took another hearty bite of the fish.

"Why _did_ you leave Happy?"

"I went looking for you because I knew you wouldn't ignore me like everyone else did."

"Good to know I'm depended on.." Lucy muttered, taking a drink of water from the water jug that came with the platter.

"Hey, Lila?" Hisoka asked.

"Yes?" She looked at him, meat bun half in her mouth.

"How is it that you know about Lucy being our cousin and I don't?" He was trying to figure that part out on his own, but wasn't coming up with anything valid.

"Remember that one summer three years ago? I went to stay with Aunty, who we didn't know was dead for some reason, because I didn't want to learn how to use weapons like mommy and daddy planned on teaching us." Lila looked at Lucy. "And didn't I tell you I had a brother?"

Lucy scratched the back of her head, laughing nervously. "I think you mentioned it in passing." Lila scowled. "How old are you now Lila?" She changed the subject, trying to distract her cousin.

It worked. Lila sat up proudly and smiled. "I turned seven last month."

"How did you know where to find us?" Hisoka asked.

Lila's face lit up and got excited. She finished biting off the part of her meat bun, then set it back on the platter before standing up and holding out her finger as a 'wait' sign. She ran over to her horse and brought out her box from the saddlebags. Carefully, she sat and opened the padded box.

"I used this." She said, taking out the smoky blue crystal ball with the red core. "This thing helps me to See things with my Sight. It's my magic. It puts things into a clearer focus, but it's still hard to See things because I get them in bits and pieces."

Lucy and Hisoka looked at each other, then at Lila. They'd both read histories of the four old magics, and Lila's magic sounded like that of a lesser Star Gazer -a fortuneteller, as they were called.

"So what exactly are you both working on out here?" She asked, and they were glad she didn't notice their look.

"Our magic." Hisoka answered simply. "Lucy's trying to reabsorb the magic she put in that rock." He pointed to the blue stone lying a few feet away. "And I'm trying to figure out a medium for my magic so that I could control it and _not_ accidentally create a zombie apocalypse. So far, nothing has worked."

"Oh, well, maybe some music will work. I found a portable stereo thing while I was lost -before I thought you were dead- with really loud speakers and I though you'd like it. I've been carrying it with me the entire time." She hopped up again and went to fetch it. The curly haired blonde came back with a small, white box and handed it to Hisoka. "I put a lot of your favorite type of music on there." She added as Hisoka opened the box.

Hisoka brought out two hand sized, rectangular, black speakers and a another thing about the same size as the speakers. Upon closer inspection, they found that it was the operating part of the device.

"Here." Lila took the contraption from her brother and hooked the three pieces together and handed it back to him. She flicked a switch and it turned on. Hisoka pressed play and the speakers started blarring out one of his favorite songs. It was a techno song called Lucifer. He grinned and gave his sister a one armed hug.

"What are these for?" He asked, flicking a clip-like thing on the back of each speaker.

"Oh, those are so you can hook them onto your back pockets or the rim of your pants if you don't have any pockets. You can turn the volume up if you want to, this isn't even halfway to maximum volume."

"Are you serious?" Hisoka asked, looking for the volume knob. "It's already so loud." He finally found it and it was only about a quarter of the way turned up. These really were powerful speakers. "Thanks Lila. They're just what I need right now." With that, he stood up and stretched. "Back to work. We can't spend the whole day lazing about Lucy. You can eat and watch Lila."

"Right. We didn't come here to be lazy." Lucy also stood and stretched before collecting the blue stone and walking back over to the river to try and reabsorb the magic again. Hisoka left his music going and turned it up. He breathed like he was taught and concentrated on the dead squirrel thing that he'd been working on before. He'd only raised it once, and even that had only been for a couple of seconds. He hadn't raised it since.

As he was getting ready to summon up the power again to try and raise the dead animal, the song changed to Mystical, a song that he really liked. Without noticing, he began to breath and move his hands to its beginning beat. Somehow, it seemed easier to channel his magic and concentrate on making it a ball in his hands. As the beat picked up, the animal twitched, and so did Hisoka's fingers. They twitched in different directions until the main body of the music came up. He felt like he was _doing_ something, not just raising the squirrelish thing.

Lucy heard something rustle to her right and looked to see what it was. She yelped when the front end of a water lizard popped out of a bush, crawling with a mangled front leg. As she took a step forward to see if she could help it, it crawled all the way out of the bushes and she backed up so fast she fell over. The thing had no back end. Its guts were trailing behind it, half rotten and filled with writhing maggots.

"Hisoka. . ." Lucy croaked, crab crawling towards her new found cousin. A quick glance around the clearing told her that he wasn't just raising the squirrel-thing, but other dead animals that were close as well. She was fairly certain that he didn't even know he was doing it either.

Lucy scrambled to her feet and ran to Hisoka. She gently gripped him by the shoulders from behind and put her mouth by his ear. "Hisoka, I need you to slowly open your eyes, don't break your concentration." She told him quietly. The last thing they needed was for him to lose control of the dead and have them wandering about attacking everything that moved.

Slowly and carefully, Hisoka obeyed her command, and he was so shocked he almost lost control, but remembered at the last second that doing that was a bad idea. The clearing was filling with dead animals, some of them skeletons.

"Did Loke show you any way to release them?" Lucy asked quietly in his ear.

"No." Was the quick answer.

Lucy cursed. Of course he wouldn't know, he was the only necromancer around. "Do you remember reading anything that could possibly help?" She pressed, hoping.

Hisoka tried to mentally go through the books and scrolls he's read to see if he could dig up anything. There was something about mediums in there, wasn't there? The song switched to the techno song Geronimo. Not exactly the right beat and mood for the situation here. Lucy still had her hands on Hisoka's shoulders and she started to unconsciously sing the song softly into his ear because she knew the song. It was catchy. Her head bounced to the beat. Slowly, one by one, the animals began to drop and move no more.

Hisoka broke off the connection as soon as the last one slumped to the ground. Lila and Happy watched the whole thing like it was a movie. If only they'd had popcorn. . .

"Great job Hisoka! You did it!" Lucy cheered.

Hisoka just stood there for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't think it was just me Lucy."

"What do you mean?" The blonde asked, confusion on her face.

"I don't know, it just felt like it wasn't all me doing that." He mused, going over to examine one of the bodies.

"Hmm." Lucy frowned, then noticed that the stone she was still holding onto was gray again. "YES!" She shouted, jumping up and down and startling everyone else in the clearing in the process.

"What?" Was the genius response by Hisoka.

Lucy threw the stone at him, and he dodged it easily. The gypsy mage was grinning like a fox on Easter Sunday. Hisoka gave her this WTF? look and looked back at the stone he'd dodged. He finally got it when he noticed its color. "Now if only I knew what I did to do that." was the mutter heard from Lucy.

"We should probably start heading back if we want to be there in time for dinner." Hisoka suggested, gathering up his weapons.

Lucy looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was going down. "Yeah, you're right." And she sighed, looking at Lila and Happy. "Get on the horse Lila." She instructed. Lila obeyed with help from her brother and they all set off after making sure that they had everything.

The greeting at the main gate was what they'd been half expecting. Uma, the _Danai_, and Hisoka's three teachers were there, glaring at them. Hisoka smirked and Lucy just kind of laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her head. Uma's scowl deepened when she saw that they had company.

"Grandma!" That threw the old woman for a second. She watched as a curly haired blonde little girl jumped off the horse and ran into her, hugging her around the waist. "Grandma!" She squealed again.

"L-Lila?" The older woman stuttered, shocked. Both Lucy and Hisoka's jaws dropped. Uma, the devil of training, had stuttered. "Where have you been?" She gasped, hugging the child back.

"I got lost at the train station and got on a different train." Lila said, burying her face in Uma's skirt. "They found me and told me that mommy and daddy and nii-san had died, so I went to look for our cousin, Lucy."

Uma looked at Lucy and then back at Lila, as if she expected one of them to explain. Then she really looked at Lucy, who felt like she was being stripped and it really made her want to hide.

"Wait, what's your mother's name Lucy?" Uma asked.

Lucy gulped. "Um, Layla."

"Her maiden name?" The older woman pressed.

"Uh, Lunaris?" She said it like she wasn't sure and shrank back at her teacher's scrutiny.

Uma didn't say anything for a long time. "Grandma?" Lila asked, looking up into her grandmother's pale face. The woman was staring at Lucy with an expression that showed grief and disbelief.

"Well," She finally croaked. "That explains everything."

"Uma?" Lucy asked, wondering what the heck she was talking about.

"I haven't seen Layla since she was eight. That explains why I couldn't recognize the resemblance." Uma's voice was very thin and weak.

"Why haven't you seen her all this time?" It was Hisoka who asked, not Lucy.

Uma sighed and rubbed her temples. "We had a big fight and she went to live with her Uncle. She's hated me ever since and hasn't come to see me even once. How is she doing?"

Lucy's mouth flattened into a thing line and she looked down at the ground. "Mom died when I was only a few years old. It was an illness that took her. And I ran away from home just over a year ago to get away from my father." Her face turned to a scowl when she mentioned her father.

"And you haven't seen him since." It was not a question, but a statement.

"No, I've seen him. I had to tell him off when he nearly obliterated my guild trying to get me back so that he could marry me off. He should leave me alone now." And with that being said, she stalked through the gates without looking over her shoulder. She could smell the food.

Hisoka was the next to move, tugging the horse with him, and the others soon followed. Everyone was hungry after the long day.

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><p>I didn't think it was too bad. Can anyone guess what his medium is yet? REVIEW! and thank you for reading.<p>

^/ _ \^


	26. Found

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>Yay! This chapter is about one of my favorite characters! Hope you enjoy it. Don't forget to review when you finish reading.<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 26- Found<strong>

Where in the hell was he? He had no idea how long he'd been traveling, though he suspected that it was somewhere in the 'months' category. He wasn't in good shape. Too skinny from so much running and too little food. The dark circles under his eyes were made all the more obvious due to his skin that was so much paler than his normal shade that it was the closest thing to transparent a person could get. The bandage wrapped around his shoulder didn't look the least bit sanitary. He still hadn't taken proper care of it. He looked deathly ill, and he felt like he was. Why else would he have hallucinations that Lucy was helping him every night? Since he was too paranoid to sleep much, he traveled as much as he could, but now he had absolutely no idea where on the continent he was. Was it possible to cross an ocean without noticing it?

Gray stumbled through the trees without any real direction. He just hoped to stumble upon Magnolia some time soon. Something rustled in the bushes to his left, and Gray freaked out, freezing the bush and everything within five feet of it, breathing hard. With the lack of sleep he'd been getting, his magic wasn't replenishing as quickly, so he was over exerting himself. But he couldn't stop, not until he warned Fairy Tail about the coming danger, about _them_. He continued to push through the brush as fast as his tired, exhausted body would let him go. There was no way, no way in _hell_ he could stop now. At any second _he_ could attack, and then there would be no one to warn Fairy Tail of their doom.

It was getting dark now, Lucy would be back soon. Maybe. He pressed forward. Everything and anything that moved was frozen solid. He was over doing it, and it was sucking him dry, but he couldn't help it. He would rather be safe than sorry. Something howled, and he ran in fright, not knowing where he was going and not seeing where he placed his feet. He just had to get _away_. The brush and trees fell away from him and he stopped dead in his tracks. It took him a long minute to recognize he'd come to a road, and he was standing in the middle of it. The only reason he realized it was a road was because of the SE wagon that came around the corner. He stood there, like a deer in the headlights, and only remembered the shriek of the wheels as they tried to stop in time.

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><p>Something was poking into his body and peeling stuff away. Something cold. Wait. Cold? Nothing felt cold to him. <em>Nothing<em>. He was then aware of a warmth surrounding his shoulder. That was where the cold thing was probing into him. He heard a voice and freaked out, snapping his eyes open and wrenching away from whatever held his shoulder, the cold thing still in it. Whatever he landed on was hard and slippery. All he saw then were five bodies and one of them had dark hair and wore a dark suit.

The one wearing a long white coat was yelling something, but Gray was focused on the one with dark hair. He'd been caught! But why hadn't he been killed. He still couldn't focus very well, everything was fuzzy and he was swaying on his feet that threatened to give up holding him. They shook as he heaved in air. It was so hard to _breathe_. He saw that the figures were saying something and slowly inching closer to him, but his ears were roaring and he took a step back. He had no more magic to use. It was gone. He knew that much.

Behind the figures, he could vaguely make out a door, and the dark haired one was blocking his exit. Something stung his shoulder and he grabbed at it, feeling a long, thin, _cold_, shaft of metal. Had they been _experimenting_ on him? Had they _put_ something_ in_ him? The paranoid thought made him rip out the metal thing and start digging into his open wound to get out whatever they'd put in him. He let out a hysterical cry as he did it too and his feet finally gave.

At the very moment his legs gave out, four of the five figures lunged at him and he didn't have time to put up a defense. The first one to touch him was the dark haired one and Gray used the hand that was digging around in his shoulder to club the guy over the head with his fist. The other three quickly grabbed hold of his arms and forced him down to the floor. He struggled violently, screaming that they wouldn't destroy Fairy Tail even if they killed him. The fifth person was coming toward him with something in his hands that Gray couldn't focus on. Everything was so blurry.

The closer he came, the more he struggled, though he knew it was futile. The people holding him down were stronger than he was at the moment. He felt something jab into his neck and tried to jerk away, but he was rendered immobile by whoever was holding him down. A cool dizziness spread through his body and all he wanted . . . to do now. . .was. . . .sleep.

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><p>"Is he going to be okay?" Ren asked, rubbing his cheek where Gray, who was now lying motionless on the floor, had hit him.<p>

The doctor put a hand to Gray's forehead and blanched. "Get ice, and lots of it. He's burning up."

"Right." Ren and Eve ran out to get some ice while Hibiki and Ichiya put Gray back onto the operation table. Well, Hibiki did. Ichiya just hovered. The doctor took the boy's temperature and gulped.

"One-o-four." He muttered, then looked at the leaking wound and grimaced. "I need to clean out that wound. He just made it worse." The doctor took out another pair of tweezers and a probe and returned to picking out the maggots festering in the shoulder wound. Ren and Eve came back with bags of ice and the doctor instructed them to put them into smaller bags so that they could be better distributed. The first bag went over Gray's forehead.

When they'd placed the ice around the ice mage, the four members of Blue Pegasus stood back and watched as the doctor picked maggot after maggot out of that ugly shoulder wound. They'd found Gray in the middle of the road on their way back from a job and had nearly hit him. Gray's sheer exhaustion had caused him to pass out and they had stopped meer centimeters from the ice mage's body. After seeing the mage's condition, they'd brought him instantly to their guild and asked Rayu, a member with healing magic, to see if they could help him. Rayu was only fourteen and still learning his magic, but that didn't mean he was useless. Rayu was persistent and wouldn't give up on any patient brought to him.

Gray looked so. . . ill. Like death was hovering over his head, just waiting for the right moment to snatch the boy's life away from him.

"Ren," Rayu's voice made him jump. "Go put some ice on your cheek, and the rest of you get out. I need space."

Reminded of his wound, Ren winced as it throbbed. He knew, without looking in a mirror, that it was swollen. Gray sure could hit, and now he couldn't attract the ladies. He sulked at the thought as he went to go get some ice. Eve went with him to try and cheer him up. Meanwhile, Hibiki walked with Ichiya wearing a concerned face.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Ichiya asked, flipping the dark blond a coin. It hit him in the face, startling him.

"What?" He asked, confused.

"What's on your mind boy?" Ichiya tried again.

"Oh, I was just thinking about what Gray was saying." Hibiki admitted, stopping with concern painted all over his face.

"About destroying Fairy Tail even if we killed him?" The red head asked, skeptical.

"Yeah."

"I don't think he recognized us Hibiki. He must have thought that we were people who might have been chasing him." Ichiya offered, and started walking again. Hibiki followed, thinking. They stepped into the main guild room and were greeted by Bob, the guild master.

"How is he?" He asked, concerned.

"He's hallucinating, I think." Ichiya answered.

"He woke up thinking we were going to kill him and destroy Fairy Tail." Hibiki put in, sitting down on a stool.

"Where's Ren and Eve?" Bob asked, looking at the doors they'd just come through.

"Ren went to get some ice for his face and Eve followed him." Hibiki explained. "Gray hit him when we went to stop him from moving. I don't think he meant to though."

"Oh dear." Bob frowned, concerned. "Should I inform Makarov?"

Hibiki shook his head, interrupting whatever Ichiya was about to say. "Not yet. I want to find out what happened to him first. If Fairy Tail is in trouble I want to help. They might be our rivals, but they're still our comrades, if not our friends." Bob nodded in approval, slowly smiling. "I'm going to go sit outside for a bit. I'll be back in later." Hibiki waved and walked out into the darkness.

He walked until he came to a rock perched next to the cliff his guild was atop, and climbed on top of it to sit down. Looking up at the starry night sky helped him to think. Who was Gray running from? Why was he so freaked out and battered up? Was he in trouble? "What the hell is happening to Gray?" He muttered out loud.

"_He's being pursued is what's happening to him."_ Hibiki jumped so high he thought he could jump over trees. Quickly, he looked for the source of the voice and saw only a glowing white vapor that had the vague shape of a human body, hovering on the ground beside the boulder. He felt it was looking at him, and that thought sent a chill down his spine.

"_Be at ease, Hibiki. I am not here to harm you, not that I really could with this form of body." _Part of the vapor swooshed, giving the impression it had just gestured to itself. The vapor seemed to sense his tension and the vapor on the vague head churned to look like a smile. _"I cannot hurt you Hibiki, not that I would ever want to. I came to help Gray, and it seems you found him. Thank you for caring for him when I lacked the ability to do so myself."_

"Who are you?" His voice was high and shaky -nervous.

"_Oh yeah. You probably can't recognize me because we don't know each other that well. It's me, Lucy from Fairy Tail."_ The moment she said her name, she became a full person, almost. She still had a ghosty look to her, but it was Lucy. It took him a while to recognize her -she'd changed so much.

Her hair was a lot longer, and darker with uneven highlights. Part of it was pulled back into a messy ponytail/bun thing. There was a braided strand here and there, as were several feathers and colorful beads. Her skin was a _lot_ darker, too, and she wore a soft leather bikini top with only a thin wrap of bright orange cloth around her hips held up by a bright red sash. In the sash was what looked like a scimitar and a short sword. There might have been a dagger there too. There was nothing on her feet, but her eyes were an ever warmer brown, full of vitality and strength. She was so different from the last time he'd seen her.

"You've changed Lucy." He was finally able to say.

She smiled and crawled up onto the boulder to sit next to him. _"Yeah, well this is what happens when you go on a self-training job, you change."_

"What's up with your body? It's. . ." Hibiki tried to find a word to use. "Ghosty." That was the best he could come up with.

"_That's because this isn't my real body. My real body is asleep right now, somewhere far away. I've been helping Gray in my spirit form, though, I'm fairly sure that he thinks I'm a hallucination. When he gets better, don't tell him about me."_ Lucy laid down on the boulder and stared up at the sky.

"Why?" Hibiki asked, confused. Wouldn't she want to be acknowledged?

"_Because I'm supposed to be away on a year long job request, not a training vacation. The only one who knows about it is Master Makarov," _She sat up and looked Hibiki in the eye. "_and now you know, too, so don't go telling everyone about me."_

Hibiki felt that she wasn't kidding. Lucy hadn't just changed physically, she'd changed mentally too. "Okay, so then why are you here now?" He changed the subject.

"_I told you before that I was here to help Gray. It seems he found you, so he's in safe hands and I'm no longer needed." _Lucy stood up and stretched, then jumped off the boulder. _"That gives me more time to look at what's happening in that house." _And she started to evaporate.

"Wait!" Hibiki reached out to grab her, but she was already gone. "Damn." She'd probably been the only one who could explain what Gray had been saying, and now that she knew Gray was okay, she wasn't likely to come back. That had been his only chance to ask and he blew it. He sighed and then headed back inside to see if he could help with Gray.

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><p>I went to Silverwood Theme Park on Saturday! It was so fun, except for the lines. Don't forget to REVIEW! Please and Thank You! ^ _ \^


	27. Three Mediums

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>GOMENASAI! TT _ TT I'm sorry! I didn't mean to skip three weekends in a row! The first weekend I went on a trip down to Moscow Idaho to watch my cousin graduate from college. The second weekend I was at my grandma's house and finishing some school projects. And last weekend I had to finish big school projects that I'd procrastinated on. On top of all that, I had a bit of writers block. I'M SORRY! This chapter is the longest chapter out of all of them, just to try and make up for it. I know it's not enough, but I'm trying! Thank you for your patience.<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 27- Three Mediums<strong>

_What_ was that _smell_? It was so familiar, yet he couldn't quite place his finger on it. He'd encountered it before, though quite a while ago, which may have been why he couldn't quite remember who it was. The scent here was old, though, which entitled it to be a faint odor and nearly gone. It must not have rained here yet, otherwise there would have been no scent whatsoever to speak of. Try as he might, Natsu could not remember the scent's owner. One thing was for sure though, it wasn't Lucy's.

After looking over this landscape for a long while, it looked like someone had run through here, and found every possible rut and pebble to trip over on their way. Whoever it was must have left the scent. Natsu got closer to the ground and sniffed to see if he could get a better sample of the odor. It was minutely stronger, though, noticeable to him and better to work with. He pushed up from the dirt and closely followed the retreating footsteps. Ice was everywhere, though, that was common for it was early February. However, ice of this magnitude was strange. He'd never seen ice that completely encased a brush bush, or the trunk of a tree with a sheet of ice covering its bark.

He sniffed again, picking through the array of scents entering his nose. One scent that he knew _very_ well passed through his nostrils. That, too, was as old as the other scent, but far more important. The stench of fear and complete hysteria was mixed into Gray's scent, as was the very subtle scent of vanilla and strawberries, but Gray's scent was much more pressing than the sweet scent he might have recognized if not for the fear he smelt in Gray's.

The other scent, the slicker one, now smelled more like the poison of a snake's venom next to Gray's and he feared that this was why Gray had been running. Perhaps the thing had caught him and he lay dead somewhere? No, that couldn't be it. Gray was too good of a mage, but he was exhausted and completely panicked. All this he could tell from the scent, however old it was. If Gray was hurt -he refused to think his friend was dead- Natsu would be the one to save him. However much it pained him to say so, Lucy would have to wait a little while longer.

Mashing his lips into a tight line, Natsu readjusted his pack and followed the trail, both footprints and scent.

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><p>She knew exactly who it was in that house, both of them. All she had to do was figure out when they were planning to attack -they'd changed the date several times- and then she could tell Hibiki and he would warn her guild because she knew she would never be back in time, it taking a month for them to get here and all. But she only had the nights to do that and no time during the day.<p>

They were finally working on her spirits, and Uma found it quite amusing how they all addressed their master. Uma made a list of which spirits they would work with first and guess who was at the top of the list? Aquarius.

"Do you have _any_ idea how _brutal_ she is? Why her first?" Lucy was trying to stall for time. Aquarius would definitely hate her.

"It's _because_ she's brutal that she's first, Lucy. You have to be able to control your spirits, Lucy, or else you'll never be a good Star Gazer." Uma was getting aggravated at Lucy's persistence of avoiding working with her water spirit. "Summon her."

"B-but-but-!" Lucy stuttered, holding the key close in case Uma tried to summon her herself, though she wasn't quite sure if she could or not.

"Now, Lucy." Uma's voice had that always commanding tone in it.

When Lucy hesitated, the _Danai_ came over and put a hand on her shoulder. "It will have to be done sometime dear. Might as well get it over with now."

Lucy finally gave in. They were at the meditating pond behind the tree house, because that was the closest body of water. Uma and the _Danai_ were sitting on a boulder for observation while Lucy was knee deep in the water, key ready for summoning. When Uma gave the signal -a nod of the head- she putting the key into the water and summoned Aquarius.

"You!" Was the first thing out of her mouth. The blue haired water spirit got face to face with her and Lucy inadvertently shrank away. "I was with my _boyfriend_ just now and _you_," -she said the word with fire in her eyes and venom in her voice- "interrupted my _date_."

"I'm sorry!" Lucy squeaked, shrinking even more.

"Lucy," Both of them looked at Uma, Aquarius glaring and Lucy asking for help with her eyes. Uma ignored Aquarius for the moment and looked at Lucy. "You can't let her do that to you or else you'll never be able to bring out her full power."

"B-but-but she's scary!" Lucy whined.

Aquarius wheeled on her. "What was that?" Her voice was dark.

"Nothing." was Lucy's instant reply.

Uma sighed and shook her head. This was going to take a lot of work and a _lot_ of time.

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><p>Lila watched as Hisoka tried to raise the dead animal his teachers had found. She had been practically glued to him since she got here and had been watching him the whole time.<p>

It wasn't _working_, but why? Hisoka had tried everything that he'd done before, the only difference was Lucy's absence, and all she'd been doing when he raised the animals was working on reabsorbing the magic in the stone.

"Why don't you try thinking what you were thinking when you raised them last time Nii-san?" Lila suggested, her crystal ball in her tiny hands. She had quickly adopted the children's garb, which was basically a length of cloth wrapped around the body and a sash to hold it there. Currently, her wrap was a rich orange and her sash was a warm chocolate brown.

"But why would that make a difference?" Hisoka asked, panting. He'd been at it all morning without a break. He refused to take one until he could successfully raise, control, and then release his dead subjects.

"Even the littlest things can make a difference Hisoka." Comaha said. She and the other two were sitting about the training area, watching.

Sighing in frustration, Hisoka decided to take their advice and replicate everything that had happened that first time, including the music. He switched it straight to Mystical, as it had been last time he'd raised them. Instantly, he felt the power and control it gave him. Again, he unconsciously began to move his hands and compress everything into a tight ball in his palms. Then, as the beat picked up, he began releasing small spurts of his collected energy. He didn't know where it was going, but he trusted it went to any nearby dead bodies, which happened to be the three right in front of him.

When he heard Mihio gasp, he opened his eyes without any fear of losing control. Sure enough, the three animals before him were moving, trying to crawl to their controller, or at the very least stand up. By the end of the song, he could feel the strings of control he had over the bodies, like a puppet master had over his marionette. The song ended and, because it was on shuffle, on came the techno song Symphony of the Night, which sounded like the perfect song for controlling the dead.

"Great job Hisoka." Jhanae said, clapping slowly. "Now, release them."

"What?" He snapped his head in her direction and saw her eyes go wide in panic, but he was in perfect control of the dead bodies. And speaking of dead bodies, Hisoa felt something grip onto his leg. The thing was knobby and stick-like, so he immediately danced away only to find that it was a squirrel-thingy, one of the dead animals they'd found. Upon finding that it's target had disappeared, it chittered angrily and started moving in the direction he'd gone. Hisoka then noticed that all the critters he'd raised were trying to get to him. "Halt." He told them in a deep voice. It was a voice filled with power.

The animals stopped where they were and looked up at him. The squirrel thing chittered. "Stop that." It did.

"Release them Hisoka." Jhanae said again.

Hisoka looked at his teacher again, half in disbelief, half in horror. This was the part that he _didn't_ know exactly what to do. It had just kind of _happened_ in the forest. He didn't even know if that was _his_ doing. It hadn't felt like it. When he just stood there, frozen, and didn't do anything, all three of his teachers frowned. Mihio propped her hands on her hips and scowled.

"Hisoka." She said reproachfully.

"Yes?" He was trying to stall for time.

"Release them already." Comaha ordered, hopping down from her perch on a giant boulder.

"Um. . . ." He looked to Lila for help. She smiled and shook her head at him cheerfully. He was on his own for this one. Last time, he'd felt the energy spent on raising the dead bodies returning to him in a steady flow, but he hadn't been the one returning it.

"What's troubles you?" Jhanae asked.

"I can't." he finally sputtered out.

"And why not?" She was calm as she set a hand at the small of his back to calm him.

"Lucy's not here." He gasped. This was getting tiring and he hadn't held it for so long before. Control was something he'd have to work at. Now he knew why it was a good idea to learn illusionary magic.

"What does she have to do with it?" Comaha asked, thoroughly confused.

"She helped me last time." He said between pants.

"You might want to hurry and fetch her before Nii-san faints." Lila suggested. Startled, his teachers looked at Lila and then back at Hisoka. They could see he was turning pale under that new tan and Comaha was off before another word was said.

Lila set her crystal in its box and hopped down from her perch on the fence to walk over to where her brother was. "It's okay Nii-san, they're fetching Lucy." All Hisoka could manage at this point was a shaky nod.

"I hope they get here soon." Was all Mihio said as she sat down to wait.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure this is going to work?" Lucy was asking her teachers. Scorpion was standing next to her, smiling as always and happy to help discipline his girlfriend. She <em>did<em> need to treat her handler better.

"For the last time Lucy, it's the only thing that we can do to make her behave." Uma said. Lucy was terrified of her water spirit.

"She's going to be so pissed." The blonde mumbled to herself.

Whatever Uma was about to say, it was interrupted by a shout from outside. "What now?" Uma stood up from her seat and walked outside. Curious, Lucy followed.

When she got outside, she saw the youngest of Hisoka's teachers coming to a stop in front of Uma and the _Danai_. "What is it dear?" the _Danai_ asked the panting girl who was bent in half.

The girl -was her name Comaha?- looked up with one eye at Lucy and gasped, "Lucy. We need Lucy."

"Huh?" Lucy said afer a moment of silence, completely confused. Both of her teachers looked at her and then back at Comaha.

"Why? Is there something wrong with Hisoka?" Uma asked, laying a hand on the girl's back.

"He can't. . . he can't release. . . the animals." She gasped between breaths.

Lucy tilted her head, trying to put together the meaning of her words. Release the animals. . . . "Oh. OH. CRAP." Lucy choked and took off running.

The village would take at least half an hour to get to if she ran. Since it took Comaha that long to get here, it would mean that Hisoka'd been holding the animals there for that long. He would have held it an hour by the time she arrived, but she wasn't sure he could hold it for that long. Crap. Where was an SE carriage when you needed one?

She hadn't gone far down the path that led to the village when something slick wrapped around her waist and hoisted her into the air. As an instant reflex, she screamed and twisted, but it didn't loosen its hold on her, whatever it was. When the thing came into her sight, she saw that it was the lizard thing. She hadn't seen it in a long time. "Ah, you." was all she could manage to sputter in her surprise.

_Yes, me. How rude._ Lucy looked startled and looked around her.

"Who said that?"

_I did._ Lucy looked at the lizard thing.

"You did?" She clarified.

_Yes._ From the soft sound of the voice, the lizard was female.

"Why didn't you talk to me before?" Lucy asked, bewildered. The lizard set her down on the thick branch she was perched on.

_Your magic wasn't as well developed as it is now._ She explained like it was the simplest thing ever.

Lucy was about to say something else, but Hisoka flashed into her mind. She was wasting time here. "Crap, I need to get to the village." Lucy turned and was about to start running when she remembered that she wasn't on the ground anymore.

_I'll take you there._ Lucy looked back at her.

"Really? Would you please? I need to get there fast."

_Do not take me for one of those slow brained reptiles you call lizards. I am a _Dokukiba_ and am not slow or harmless._

"I don't doubt it." Lucy said, eying the barb at her tail's end.

She wrapped her tongue around Lucy's waist again and lifted her onto her back, just behind the long mounds on her back, which now lifted free of their holdings and spread into wings. It was almost like she was half dragon.

_Don't fall._ Was all the warning Lucy had before the _Dokukiba _jumped off of the branch. Lucy scrambled for something to hold onto, but couldn't find anything near, so she thrust forward and grabbed for the wings where they connected to the main body. She caught them and held on. It didn't disrupt her flight at all. Now that she wasn't in danger of falling off, she looked ahead and found that the trees were going by fast. She'd been telling the truth when she said she wasn't slow.

In less than a minute, they were over the village. "Hisoka!" she yelled when she saw him. She dove down for landing, and when she touched the ground, she galloped a few times before grinding to a stop. Lucy was stumbling off her back before she came to a complete stop and was hurrying towards Hisoka. He was sitting on the ground looking too pale to be healthy.

His mouth twitched up in a tight smile. "Hisoka!" She skidded to a stop on her knees next to Hisoka. Lila was sitting next to him, looking to be holding him in a sitting position. The other two, Jhanae and Mihio, were staring at Lucy's ride with a strange face.

"Hey Lucy." Hisoka said in a weak voice, trying to act normal.

"What's wrong? Why can't you release them?" As Lucy asked, she glanced around and found there were at least twenty corpses in the area. Another one was crawling its way through the bushes.

"You're the one who does that." Lucy's eyes snapped back to Hisoka.

"What are you talking about? You're the necromancer, not me."

He let out a weak laugh. "Yeah, but you're my release medium. Turns out I need three of them, not two." He was looking paler by the second.

"But how do I help you release them?" Lucy asked. She was scrambling in her mind to remember what she was doing last time this happened.

"Sing." She stared at him like he was crazy. No one had bothered to turn off his music, most likely because they figured it was the one thing that kept him from losing control.

Lucy started singing along with the techno song Lovesick and turned to look at all the corpses. As she did, she thought of the energy trapped in the bodies and drew a line from them to Hisoka, and channeled it all back into his body. The animals, angered that someone other than their master was trifling with them, came at her faster than she had thought they could originally move. She danced out of the way, light on her feet. Using the beat of the music, she based her movements off of that and was able to successfully dodge the attacks of the animals. The more she danced, the faster those things collapsed and by the time the song finished she did a twirl to the right and then back to the left as the last one fell, dead once again.

She was heaving, out of breath. She really needed to do some stamina exercises while she was doing this disciplining with Aquarius. Speaking of Aquarius, Lucy checked to make sure that Scorpion was still out in the real world. When she was satisfied that he was, she returned her attention to Hisoka, who looked like he had on their self training trip in the jungle.

Everyone was staring at her now, and she began to feel self conscious.

Hisoka was the one who finally broke the silence. "Thanks Lucy."

"You're welcome. How do you feel?" She sat down next to him and felt his face. He was normal temperature, and his face was tan again, a bit rosy even.

"Better."

"Now, how did I get to be your release medium?" Lucy demanded.

"I think it was when you touched me. You _have_ touched me several times already, and since you steal unconsciously, you may have been stealing that aspect of my necromancy magic." Hisoka said.

Lucy thought about his explanation for a moment before she pursed her lips and slowly nodded her head. "I guess that would make sense. Where's a stone? I'll give it back." She looked about for a stone of a suitable size.

"Wait, hold on." Hisoka said, grabbing onto her arm before she could go after the stone she'd spotted.

The blonde looked at her cousin, confusion written all over her features. "What?"

Hisoka gave a half smiled, then frowned. "I was thinking, about how you could use some of my magic." He stopped there, seeming to try and find the right way to say what he was thinking.

"Yes?" Lucy prodded gently, sitting down again. He left go of her when she did.

"I was reading in one of the books that Uma had given me and it said somewhere that a necromancer couldn't use his magic unless a gypsy was with them at all times of use. I think it was for balance purposes. Anyway, since I'm a necromancer and you're a gypsy, I'll have to stay with you when we've finished training. So I was thinking as we waited that if you had at least some power over every aspect of raising, controlling and releasing the dead, then we could both switch off and on during battle." Everyone was staring at him, even Lila.

"So you _want_ me to steal your magic?" Lucy finally asked after a long stretch of silence.

Hisoka shook his head. "No, not like you're thinking. I just want you to take just enough of each aspect that you could fully control the dead bodies that I raise. That way, if I get hurt, or killed, they won't go out of control because you'd be controlling them. It would give us both a chance to rest in between songs."

"Okay, I get what you're saying, but what do you mean about the songs?" Lucy asked.

"Oh come on Lucy. Don't tell me you haven't figured it out yet?" Lucy was looking at him with a blank face. "Your medium is singing Lucy. Dancing increases its power. You just demonstrated that when you released all those corpses. I use the music as a focuser for channeling my magic into the bodies and controlling them. Don't you see? We have the same medium, just not the same aspects of it."

Lila was the one to break through Lucy's confusing thoughts. "I makes sense. Gypsies were often street performers who danced and sang when they weren't doing magic."

"Okay, so then how do we do this?" Lucy looked at Hisoka who smiled.

"Just do what I say, and we'll get it done." He said, clapping her on this back.

* * *

><p><em>Doukukiba<em>- poison fang

Again, I'm sorry for being so late. *bows in the japanese style of a servant* I beg your forgiveness. Someone informed me of an error in chapters 4 and 5, so I got that fixed up. If anyone spots another big error, please tell me so that I may fix it as soon as may be.

Did anyone expect Lucy's involvement in Hisoka's magic?

Please Review! And thank you for your patience! ^/ _ \^


	28. Target Found

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team, what about Lucy?

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><p>Sorry, I couldn't come up with a good title for the chapter. Oh well. I guess there has to be at least one stupid chapter title in every story. Anyway, here's this week's chapter. Enjoy!<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 28- Target Found<strong>

For two whole months, he'd followed the scent southeast and then South. The reptilian scent had disappeared about twenty-five miles after he'd found it, and he hadn't smelled it since. It was gone, but it was still troubling because it smelled like something he'd encountered before. Something dangerous. Shaking his head, Natsu pushed those thoughts away and kept pushing forward, following Gray's scent. He'd lost it a few times due to rain, but found it again with the splashes of blood along the trail. It was a good thing, because it kept him on a trail, and an even worse thing, because it meant that Gray was injured, badly.

Natsu ground his teeth every time he found a bit of Gray's blood, which was a lot, and pressed forward with renewed vigor. The ice mage was bleeding this much, but he was still moving. What bothered the dragon slayer was the fact that Gray hadn't iced over the wound, wherever it was, like he normally would. He suspected that the fear he kept smelling in his friend's scent had something to do with it. He couldn't remember a time right off the top of his head when Gray was ever this scared. Heck, he didn't think there was ever a time when Gray was this hysterically _afraid_.

The only times he'd stopped, was for the necessities: food, drink, sleep, and the other pressing business. The rest of the time, he'd pressed on, tracking the scent without stopping. Lately, the scent had gotten stronger, which meant that he was closer to the real thing. The pinket didn't know how far he'd traveled, or exactly where he was, he just knew he was still in Fiore.

It was about midday when he came to a place where ice encased everything. He'd noticed Gray going more skittish and jumpy as he progressed, but it looked like Gray had finally gone off the deep end, attacking anything that even twitched. Closing his eyes to heighten his senses, Natsu inhaled Gray's scent. It dripped of fear and stank of rotten flesh. Wherever Gray had been injured, he hadn't taken care of it. He clenched his fists. That's what Lucy'd been there for, to bind everyone's wounds.

Really, what had he been _thinking_ when he replaced Lucy with Lisanna? Yes, he'd teamed up with Lisanna a few times before she'd disappeared, and they'd been an okay team, but Lucy was better because she could do a lot of things that Lisanna never could do. What and _idiot_, Natsu told himself, smacking his head on a tree. He had to focus if he wanted to find Gray, not wallow in well deserved self-beatings. Again, he inhaled to find the direction Gray had been going. Opening his eyes, he looked down and grimaced. There was a clear blood trail. He followed it up onto the road and blanched.

There was a giant bloodstain that no one had bothered cleaning up in the middle of the dirt road. So then, where was the body? Shaken and trembling, Natsu forced himself to go over to the bloodstain and inspect it. From the way the blood was pooled and dried, it looked like he hadn't been hit, but maybe fell over? He frowned. The tire marks indicated differently. Where they dug in and seemingly stopped was too close for Gray _not_ to have been hit.

Conversely, had the vehicle actually hit him, there would be a bloodstain elsewhere where he'd have been thrown. At that thought, Natsu searched around him for any other bloodstains and found none. Now, thoroughly perplexed, he returned to the bloodstain to examine it again and possibly figure out the fate that had befallen his friend. Whatever the circumstance, the fact remained that the body was missing and he had to find it. Dead or alive. Preferably alive.

Natsu was crouched in front of the bloodstain and inhaling the scent, trying to find which way the body went, when an SE carriage came around the corner. Headlights blinded him and the last thing he felt was the impact of the vehicle as he moved his arms to shield them from the light.

* * *

><p>'WUMPH' was the sound of both Lucy and Hisoka as they collapsed onto their backs, limbs spread wide to try and cool off better. Happy was nearby, flopped on his belly. Lila was the only one not panting and sweating. She was still sitting on her rock, holding her crystal ball in both hands and staring at seemingly nothing.<p>

"Why is it so hot today?" Lucy whined, trying to fan herself with her hand and giving up quickly.

"You think you're hot Lucy-chan?" Happy panted. "Why don't you try wearing a fur coat."

"No thank you." was the blonde's reply. After a short silence, she asked, "Hisoka, are you okay?"

There was a groaning reply that she took for a yes.

"Okay. What did you think of that session? Did I get it right that time?"

"We still aren't getting the transitions very well. It needs to be faster if we'll be doing this on the battlefield. The opponent won't give us five minutes to switch." Hisoka said, shifting into a more comfortable position on the ground.

"Right."

"What about me Lucy-chan? How am I doing?" Happy asked, pawing at the ground before giving up.

Lucy tried to turn her head so that she could see Happy, but gave up the effort because it was too much work and way too _hot._ "You're doing great Happy. With some more practice, you'll be able to hold your form longer than Pantherlily."

Even though Lucy couldn't see Happy's kitty grin, Hisoka could and smiled too. Happy had been inspired watching the two try and improve their skills, so he'd decided to train too. They all heard the approach of footsteps and turned their heads in that direction to see who it was. It was Uma.

"Uma, why is it so ungodly hot today?" Lucy asked.

Uma's face was grim and pale, which was saying something, because she never looked pale. "Uma?" Lucy asked again, sitting up.

"I'll tell you why it's so hot." Uma called as she got closer. Lila gasped and said along with Uma, "The jungle is on fire."

But Lila kept going, adding, "And this tribe's enemy it waiting in its wake."

* * *

><p>He was swimming in colors. Lots of colors, and smells. Then, he blinked and everything was in order and making sense. Surrounding him were trees, very <em>big<em> trees and thick foliage. Screeches from above made him look up and he fell over in shock as the big and littler animals leaped from tree branch to tree branch. Human screams then broke through the animals and the ones making the noise came crashing through the greenery.

"Uma!" someone shouted. He looked for the voice. "Get everyone to the pond! There's not enough water for me here to use Aquarius!" Now he'd spotted the speaker. But it was too late because she ran right. . . through him? As if sensing him, the blonde looked behind and widened her eyes. The boy next to her stared too.

Quickly, the girl turned to her partner and called, "Send him back." The boy only nodded, still staring. Natsu then felt a hard shove and he was sailing backwards, out of that jungle. It was falling away from him. He only realized too late who the girl had been. She'd changed her appearance so much he'd had to look a lot to recognize her. She even smelled different.

He blinked and he was suddenly in the real world again, or at least, he thought he was. It was hard to breathe and every movement hurt. As he tried to inhale, a sharp pain stabbed his chest and he coughed up blood. Every movement of his torso caused him even greater pain and sent stars into his vision. Between the lights in his eyes, he saw faces and a white ceiling. Someone was calling his name. A little voice was saying that it was familiar, but he was in too much pain to remember whose it was.

He definitely awake. There was no pain in dreams. As horrible as it was, this was reality and he was dying. Suddenly, someone grabbed his face and made him look at the face in front of him.

"Natsu Dragoneel, this is Hibiki Lates from Blue Pegasus. You need to stop moving or else you're going to die." The blonde said every word slowly and pronounced every syllable with precision so that he would understand. "Do you understand me?" Natsu nodded as best he could and Hibiki nodded with him for encouragement. "Good, now calm down. I know it hurts, but you need to calm down so we can set your bones again. Stop fighting us." And he was gone from Natsu's sight.

He wasn't sure if he'd removed his hands from his face either, because he'd lost all feeling in his body. The high pitched ringing in his ears drowned out most sounds from his ears. His eyes felt heavy. He was so tired, and wanted nothing more than to go to sleep at the moment. Strange thought when he was in the midst of dying.

Hibiki was suddenly in his line of vision again, patting him on the cheek enough to keep him awake. "Come on, stay awake Natsu. Lucy would kill me if you died now. So would Gray for that matter."

At the mention of Gray's name, Natsu struggled up through the black water that he'd been sinking in and back to consciousness. "Gray." He managed to croak. Where was Gray?

"He's right here Natus." Hibiki turned his head to the side so that the dragon slayer was able to see Gray lying in the bed beside him. The ice mage looked paler than usual and a thick bandage was wrapped all around his shoulder and part of his chest.

"Gray's fine, now it's your turn." Then he turned his head away and spoke to someone else. "Rayu! Come on, he's dying! I can't keep him awake for much longer so hurry up and get on with it!"

"I'm doing this as fast as I can Hibiki! You can't rush these kinds of things very well without making a mistake. I'd rather not make one if you please, so shut UP!" Natsu didn't recognize the voice at all. Trying to see who the speaker was, Natsu shifted up the slightest bit. The movement was regrettable as he coughed and blood spurted from his mouth. "Shit!"

A chill sunk deep into his body and his muscles started spasming out of control. The movement shot pain through his chest and more blood found its way up his throat and out of his mouth. It was hard to _breathe_ because the liquid was blocking his air passageways.

"Rayu! He can't breathe!" Hibiki shouted as he tried to clear Natsu's mouth of blood. He held the pinket's limp head and turned it sideways to empty it out.

"Hold him down or else he'll suffocate." Rayu instructed, latching down on the dragon slayer's upper body. "His body is going into shock. I was wondering when it would happen." There was then a spasm so violent, it force Rayu's arms up and Natsu's back arched off the table so fast they heard something crack. "Ren! Eve! Get his legs!"

The two pinned down the rest of his body and were able to contain the rest of the shakes. Without wasting any time, Rayu put a palm on Natsu's chest and resumed the healing spell he'd begun before the seizure with more intensity and vigor than before. Hibiki was grateful for his guild member's determination not to let any patient of _his_ die.

"Come one Natsu, stay awake." Hibiki smacked Natsu in the face several times, not hard, but enough to annoy him and keep him awake. "You're going to be fine Natsu, you just need to stay awake." Hibiki urged. All he got was a gurgled groan and Natsu's eyes fluttered as he struggled to keep them open.

"You're doing great Natsu, just don't fall asleep." Hibiki encouraged. He never looked away from the dragon slayer and held his eyes as much as he could. After another hour and two more grueling seizures, Rayu finally got him stabilized.

Rayu collapsed onto the floor, exhausted. "They should put a sign around that bend saying 'FAIRY CROSSING AHEAD'. This is the second one." Then he glared at Ichiya who'd been sitting in a chair the whole time. "And you shouldn't be speeding. How did you ever get clearance to drive an SE carriage anyway?"

"It's a simple case of being a man Rayu, you wouldn't understand being as you're not at that stage yet." Ichiya said.

Hibiki saw Rayu's eyebrow twitch. "You want a bet?" Rayu's voice was deeper and had a growling tone in it. There was fire in his eyes and he was cracking his knuckles.

The one thing no one ever mentioned to Rayu was his age and the questioning of his manhood. Yes, he had feminine features and long-ish hair, but he always had it tied back and there was nothing really he could do about his face. It wasn't his fault he looked like his mother.

"Calm down Rayu. In any case, Ichiya is never driving again. We're all older than sixteen, so we can drive instead." Eve assured.

"You _are_ sixteen Eve." Ren pointed out.

"So? I'm still able to drive." Eve childishly stuck his tongue out.

"I don't care who can drive and who can't, just don't let Ichiya drive again and GET OUT OF THIS ROOM!" Rayu yelled, shoving them all in the direction of the door. "You're fouling the clean air of my patients. Don't come back until I say so." And he shut the door before they could protest.

Hibiki smiled crookedly at the shut door before walking off to think. Why were Fairy Tail guild members showing up out of the blue? And where exactly was Lucy?

* * *

><p>Next week's chapter probably won't be posted because Mon-Wed I have my school finals and for the rest of the time I'll either be at my sister's helping her house vomit all over the front yard, or in Orville with my grandma visiting my great uncle and aunt. Point is, I'll be busy. But now it's summer which means swimming, and sleeping in, and hanging out with friends, and writing more chapters, and forest explorations, . . . and hay season, . . . and weeding, . . . and hot weather. Well, you get the point. Happy Summer Break everyone!<p>

REVIEW PLEASE!


	29. The Battle Begun

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>I'm sorry. I didn't mean to miss last week. I was preoccupied with finishing my weeding so that I could go to my friend's birthday party, which was was awesome. There was a live band and we didn't go to bed until six in the morning. The best party I have ever been too. I wasn't home yesterday so I couldn't post then. Anyways, I hope this chapter makes up for it. And THANKS for all the REVIEWS.<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 29- The Battle Begun<br>**

"So tell me again why we're following this ice trail?" Kaizoku asked, struggling to keep up with the red head.

"Because it looks like the work of one of my comrades and I'm worried. Gray usually doesn't go this berserk unless it's something serious." Erza explained, only half paying attention to her little tag-a-long.

She had long returned the SE carriage and was now pulling her luggage behind her on her usual cart like it was only a standard red wagon. Kaizoku was still in awe at her strength and thanked Kami that she hadn't used it on him when she'd caught him stealing. They'd encountered the ice trail a little while after they'd reached the mountain summit. He'd thought it was odd because they'd left the snow and ice behind days before.

After he'd pointed it out to Erza, she'd gotten this really weird look on her face and abruptly told him that they had to follow it as soon as they returned the SE carriage. So here they were, following a trail that was covered in unmelting ice through a forest and they had no idea where they were going. Bored out of his mind, Kaizoku brought out the crystal prism Erza had given him and rolled it over in his hand. She'd told him it was supposed to help him figure out what kind of magic he would be good at. So far, it had only been an accessory around his neck and done nothing more. How was it supposed to help him when it didn't do anything?

They finally broke through the trees and came up to a road where there was a giant dark spot in its center. "What's that Erza?" He asked, crouching down by it and examining it. When she didn't answer, he looked up at her and she was pale, almost sick looking. "Erza?" Before she could answer, something came screeching around the bend.

* * *

><p>"Help me move this stuff." Lucy called, trying to lift a thick, burnt tree branch.<p>

Others came to help, those that could be spared. Everyone was digging through rubble and looking for anyone who'd been trapped by the burning branches. They didn't have long before the enemy arrived, Lila was keeping an eye. They had to find Uma before then or else she'd be trapped under who knows how many feet of smoldering, heavy wood. Aquarius had worked, but Uma had waited until everyone else was in the water. Unfortunately, not everyone had made it in, so she went under with other people when one of the canopy trees started collapsing.

"Uma! Can you hear me?" Lucy shouted, then coughed from the horrible smoke that clouded the air. There was no answer. "Uma!"

"They're coming!" Someone screamed. "The _Rashus_ are coming!" Lucy ground her teeth in frustration.

The _Danai_ was injured and couldn't walk and Uma would have been in command after her, but she was buried under all this, which left it all up to her and Hisoka. She never thought she'd have to take command of so many people. Hell she never thought that she would ever command anyone. She had to make a decision, and fast.

"Warriors, come with me. Everyone else, get the children and elderly to the pond and when you've done that, keep searching for those that got buried under here. We'll stop them before they get here." And she jumped off the charred mound to start running in the direction of the village.

"Where's Hisoka?" She called over her shoulder.

"Right here." He called, coming up beside her.

She nodded. "Good. Where are Mihio, Jhanae, and Comaha?"

"I think they're with the _Danai_." Hisoka called.

"Have someone tell them we need two of them to come and guard the diggers in case some sneak around or get past us. The _Danai _ might not be able to walk, but she can still fight and defend the ones who are with her." Hisoka sent someone back with the message and Lucy raised her voice so that all the warriors could hear her. "Alright. The _Danai_ is protecting those who are injured and too old or young to fight. We've sent someone back to tell Hisoka's _Kikai _to defend those who are digging the others out. Our job is to stop these _Rashus_ before they can damage us even further and drive them back."

"What about those of us who don't wield magic, as you and he do?" Asked one of the male warriors running beside her.

"You will all be spread out in the jungle in groups. I imagine they think that you're all still in the village or somewhere close by. They won't be expecting us." She gestured to herself and Hisoka, who nodded. "Do you know how many mages they have?" She asked to anyone who would answer.

"The powerful ones number at maybe three. There could be more. It's been a long time since we've clashed like this." Lucy recognized this one as one of the _Danai's _bodyguards.

"Fun." Lucy muttered. "Milah, get your girls split into even groups. One of you will guard my back, the other will guard Hisoka. The rest of you get split into groups of four and make sure there's a commander in each group." Lucy ordered. They were almost there.

"But, isn't four people too small of a group?" Asked one warrior.

"No, it's the perfect size to be able to take out the enemy's larger numbers and move quietly through the jungle." She let them think about that for a second. "Besides, nobody knows the jungle in this area better than any of you do." That made them smirk. As warriors, they'd gone through every part of the jungle within two miles of the village almost everyday. They knew every nook and cranny. "Now, let's get this party started." And they split up.

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><p>"Why? WHY?" Ichiya cried, shaking Erza and weeping over the remains of the SE carriage.<p>

"You were going to hit us, so I stopped you before you did." Erza said, completely bewildered. She'd never seen Ichiya in such a state.

"You didn't have to _completely_ DESTROY it!" And he wept while everyone else stared on. Well, everyone except Eve who was hammering in a traffic sign saying FAIRY CROSSING in bold letters.

Kaizoku edged closer to Erza and asked. "Do you know this weirdo?"

Erza, still looking bewildered, said, "Sadly, yes. He has issues, don't mind him. In fact, please don't talk to him."

"Awe, don't be mean Erza." The red head turned to the older blond.

"Hibiki. Where's Gray? And why are you putting up that sign?" She gave the sign a strange look.

"Because you're the third Fairy to almost get hit here." Ren said, amused at Ichiya's actions.

"My poor, poor blossom." Ichiya was saying. Kaizoku looked creeped out.

"Third? You mean Gray wasn't the only one to come by here?" Erza asked, forgetting Ichiya.

"Nope. Natsu came by too and Ichiya hit him." Eve said cheerfully.

Kaizoku took a few steps back as a flaming inferno sprung to life in Erza's eyes. "He _what_?" She growled. The others backed off too. Ichiya was too occupied with the loss of his 'blossom' to notice his impending doom coming up behind him. When all was said and done, Ichiya's license was smashed to irrepairable bits and the man himself was beaten unconscious and bloody.

"Now," Erza said, clapping her hands together to get the imaginary dust off. "Take me to my comrades." Eve hid behind Ren, who hid behind Hibiki, who threw the remains of Ichiya over his shoulder like he would a jacket, smiled, and started walking down the road. Erza grabbed her luggage cart and started after him. Kaizoku, wanting to figure out what the crystal would do, hopped onto the back of the cart and rode there.

Maybe if he stared at it long enough it would do something. That seemed like a reasonable way to him. "Let the staring begin." And he stared at the purple crystal.

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><p>They got there first and had just enough time to have the warriors guarding them conceal themselves in the remaining foliage. The <em>Rashus<em> came in a group, not large enough to be an entire village, but large enough to be cocky. Lucy hated cocky people.

The three at the front seemed to be running things and one stepped forward. "Where is the _Danai_? Where is all of your people? Did the fire take care of all the dirty work for us?" It was male by the sound of the voice.

"The _Danai_ is elsewhere, tending to more serious matters. She sent us instead to take care of the infestation." Taunting the enemy was always a risky thing, but it was always good for them to make the first move.

"More important? What could be more important than us?" The female with long brown hair braided in cornrows asked. They could hear the outrage in her voice.

"How dare she treat us like ants." The other male with a bald head added. They all gripped their staves. Lucy guessed that these three were the mages and the others were the normal warriors.

"She sends children to fight us? How insignificant does she think we are?" Asked the first male.

Then, they felt it, the magic being concentrated. "Hisoka, give me my storm song if you please." Lucy instructed. Hisoka stared at her.

"Are you sure you want to start out with that song?" He asked.

"Yup."

"Okay." He still sounded unsure, but turned on the song Maelstorm. As the song started, she drew out her thin daggers and started moving her feet from side to side as the beat picked up.

Her audience stared at her, then, one of the mages in front laughed. "Are you going to dance us to death?"

Lucy's smile was more of a smirk as the beat went onto its main stream. And then she was gone. That gave them a start and weapons instantly shot up in anticipation of a frontal attack. They didn't expect her to appear dead center and slash down three of the warriors. But before anyone could get in a strike, she was gone again with the music and did the same thing on the edges. She kept doing this over and over again until the mages finally got a head on their shoulders and called up a gale force wind. But too late because Hisoka changed the song to Mystical and Lucy returned to his side. She crouched in front of him in a defensive stance and watched the enemy. Those that she'd injured were screaming, and those that she'd killed. . . . Well, let's say they were standing up.

"Lucy?" Hisoka asked as his raising song was ending.

"Zombie." And so Hisoka put it on and turned up the volume.

The wind gone, she went straight for the mages and touched them all. It was at random because they couldn't be too obvious. Sometimes she would be touching one of them, sometimes she would be slashing at an enemy body. It all depended on where the beat took her, but she made sure to touch the mages more than once. Now, the dead enemy was attacking friends and killing them by breaking necks or just rendering them unable to move.

"Loke." She summoned and they both appeared in between the three mages, still unaware of their magical stock.

Knowing what his master wanted, he summoned up his magic. "Lion Brilliance." Hisoka, knowing this move from earlier practice sessions, closed his eyes before the light could blind him. And while everyone else was blinded, Lucy called Taurus and Scorpio.

"Scorpio, your Sand Buster if you please." Lucy asked, wrapping her arms around Loke's neck who took them out of the path of destruction.

"Right." He sounded excited to get to work and Taurus didn't need any initiative from Lucy to use his axe.

"Sandstorm Axe Aldebaran!" The two spirits said together. The attack blew them all off their feet and into the sand twisters.

"Loke?" She asked as he set her down next to her other two spirits. "Would you do the honors?"

"Anything for you princess." He said, and kissed her hand. Lucy scowled, she still had yet to break him of that. "Regulus Impact!" Light gathered in his outstretched palm and as he released it, they watched it turn into a fierce lion's head and race to attack.

During this, Lucy was singing to help Hisoka release the dead he had control of and they released them just in time. Her spirits disappeared and Lucy and Hisoka were left to stare at the remaining cloud of dust. The evening rain was starting and Lucy was glad for it; it would help the dust settle faster.

"We've found her!" Lucy and Hisoka turned to see someone running towards them.

"Found who?" Hisoka asked as the runner got closer and stopped.

"Uma, we've found Uma. But she's. . ." The runner looked down and heaved in air.

"What?" Lucy asked as ice filled her veins. "She's what?"

"She's-." But she never finished because a wind force knocked them all off their feet.

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><p>If tomatoes are fruit, then isn't ketchup a smoothie?<p>

Thanks for reading and don't forget to REVIEW please. ^/ _ \^


	30. Victory

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>Next week's chapter might not be published because my sister is coming up from Colorado, the flaming state right now, and I haven't seen her in YEARS, so I'm apologizing in advance if I don't get it up. I'm sorry for missing last weekend, I was lifting hay bales. It was not fun. Thank you all for so many reviews and thanks for reading. Here's your next chapter in Replaced!<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 30- Victory<strong>

Lucy hurt everywhere and groaned as she opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a wall of green, thick ropes. Vines? Where was she? What had happened? As soon as she thought the questions, she remembered what had happened before she blacked out and sat up instantly to figure out where exactly she was. Nowhere that rang a bell. She couldn't panic, that was bad in tight situations, so she stood up and closed her eyes. Muscle memory helped her through her meditation patterns and as she cleared her mind, she felt her magic spread over her surroundings. She was surprised to find that she was in the canopy. The vines must have grabbed her when she went flying from that sudden wind.

Damn, she'd let her guard down. What of the others? She had to find them. Swiftly, she spread her magic out further, searching for her companions, or at the very least the enemy. She found her companions scattered about and the enemy bearing down on them over a hundred meters away. If the situation hadn't been as it was now, she would have felt astonished that the vines could pull her so far away.

From the look of things, she hadn't been out long, but her people needed her, Hisoka especially. They were a team that drew strength from each other. But she couldn't just rush out and ruin a perfect chance to attack. Lucy glanced down at her keys. Or could she? She began to smile as she formulated her plan.

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><p>"Miss Erza, <em>please<em> don't kill Ichiya." Hibiki was saying as he, Ren, and Eve hung onto her and held her back from the bed Ichiya was on.

"Why not?" If they didn't know better, they'd have thought fire would come out with the words.

"Because he's a friend?" Ren tried.

"Not good enough." And Erza gained another step closer to her victim, fire in her eyes.

Kaizoku would have laughed at the scene before him had he not been staring at the crystal in his hands. Nothing had happened so far, but maybe he had to stare a little longer?

"Please, he's defenseless right now. If you want to kill him, do it when it can be a fair fight." Eve suggested. Erza stopped for a second to contemplate before an evil smirk broke out.

"All the more reason to kill him now so he'll know how Natsu felt when Ichiya nearly killed _him_." Erza inched forward another step.

"That's just it, though, Erza." Hibiki said, pulling on the girl's shoulders. "Ichiya didn't _kill_ Natsu, he _nearly_ killed him. Natsu isn't _dead_."

"True." The sudden let up of Erza's resistance caused them all to fall backward onto the floor. "But I'm still gonna hit him." And now that there was no one to stop her, she punched him in the gut just as he was sitting up, knocking him out again.

"You're brutal Erza." Hibiki stated as she dusted her hands again.

"What else would I be if not brutal?" She asked with an innocent smile, then her face turned serious as she turned to her other comrade. "Natsu aside, what happened to Gray?"

"I've no notion." They all -with the exception of Kaizoku- turned to Rayu, who they hadn't noticed was there until that moment. "When he came in, he had his shoulder ripped open and various other small wounds, but the shoulder wound was the most infected and had maggots crawling around. It looked like he hadn't slept a wink in days, weeks even."

"We found him in the same place we found you and Natsu. We brought him here because he looked really bad and he woke up as Rayu was picking the maggots out of his shoulder." Hibiki explained, finding a wall to lean against. "When he did wake up. . ." Hibiki shook his head. "He didn't recognize any of us and attacked Ren."

"He was damn scared of something." Ren put in, rubbing his cheek absently.

"He was delirious, Ren." Hibiki corrected. "He though we were going to kill him and said quote, 'you will never destroy Fairy Tail even if you kill me.' unquote. I think he found out something he wasn't supposed to and was running away from whoever sniffed him out."

"He's been in a comatose ever since we found him, though." Rayu stated, then glanced at his watch. "It's about time to change the bandages. If you stay out of the way and don't interfere, you can stay. If not, leave now." Rayu said as he grabbed a basket full of gauze and bandages. Ren and Eve left and Hibiki and Erza stepped back, out of the way while Rayu busied himself with unwrapping Gray's bandage.

They watched in silence as Rayu finally uncovered the jagged wound and Erza had to cover her mouth to silence the gasp. The gash on Gray's shoulder wasn't completely healed, though stitched up, it was an angry purple-red color and still oozing puss. Erza forced herself to watch as Rayu washed and disinfected the wound then slathered on a nasty smelling salve before bandaging it up again. When he moved on to Natsu, she went to stand beside Gray's bed and looked down at him. Now that she was paying attention, she could see some new scar tissue in places on his arms, hands, and face. Any bruises he might have had when he arrived were long since healed and out of sight.

Who could have possibly done this to him? She wondered. Gray never hurt anybody, and the only time he fought was when he was protecting the name of Fairy Tail or his comrades -not counting the fights he got into at the guild with other guild members of course. Who would want to- to _kill_ Gray? Befuddled and very concerned at the possibility that Gray had someone who actually wanted to kill him, she turned around to face Natsu. Rayu was cleaning his road burns and placing healing magic on still mending bones. Natsu looked to be in better shape than Gray, despite the fact that he hadn't been here as long. Still, she hoped that they would both wake up soon so that she would know what was going on.

Having had enough, she turned back to Hibiki. She spotted Kaizoku, still staring at that crystal she'd given him, and sighed. Erza hooked her arm around Kaizoku's waist and picked him up. Kaizoku, who'd been too focused on the crystal, squeaked when Erza unexpectedly picked him up and hauled him out the door.

"Why do you keep staring at that thing?" The red head asked as she carried him down the hall over her shoulder.

Kaizoku was still confused as to why she'd picked him up, but answered anyway. "I figured that if I stare at it long enough, it'll tell me what kind of magic I should be using."

"And is it working?" Did he detect amusement in her voice?

He was silent for a full ten seconds before muttering, "No." And this time, Erza laughed and set him down.

"Let's go find a hotel to stay at." She ruffled his hair a little before continuing down the hall. He followed after her, scowling and trying to put his hair back in order.

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><p>Hisoka's back hit a wall, or more specifically, a tree. He was trapped. Without Lucy, he could only do so much. That was the bad thing about being a necromancer, summoning required a lot of concentration, and when he was constantly being attacked, he couldn't concentrate. Necromancers almost <em>required<em> a partner in order to do their magic.

"Who are you anyway?" Demanded the female mage in front of him. There were three other normal warrior _Rashus_ trapping him in. "You're not from our enemy tribe. You speak strangely."

He said nothing and kept his long sword between him and his trappers. Then, an idea suddenly popped into his head. He had no idea where it came from, but it was worth a try. Taking in a breath, he braced his legs and said, "Jon." As if the demon had been perched right above him, waiting for his name to be called, Hisoka felt the immense claws wrap around his upper arms and he was suddenly in canopy. When Jon dropped him off, he grinned at the ugly bird, who glared at him in turn. "Thanks for the save."

_Don't expect me to do it again._ He grumbled. _I'm not your nanny. Shouldn't you be studying Gates and Portals and such instead of playing with these toys?_

"I've _been_ reading about them, but I can't exactly study them when these _toys_, as you so kindly put it, are pushing me around and making a lot of noise." Hisoka said, propping his hands on his hips and leaning forward. "If you would help me put them back in the toy chest, then I could get back to studying." It felt odd talking in metaphors to a demon, but hey, it was working.

Jonathan looked to be scowling at him. Hisoka waited patiently while Jon grumbled to himself. Finally, Jon said, _If it will make you study faster, then I will help you to get rid of the problem._

"Good. I'm glad." Hisoka said, and smiled.

Suddenly, there was a scream from below and they both looked down. There was Lucy in the center of a whirlwind that was shredding her skin and clothes. Hisoka looked for the mage that was doing it and found it was the male who'd had hair. He was entirely focused on Lucy and laughing at her. He was much too occupied to notice another Lucy dropping -with the help of the vines- onto his shoulders from above. Hisoka watched, confused, as Lucy trapped the mage's arms with her legs and put her hands on either side of his head.

The whirlwind on the other Lucy had dispersed as soon as the other Lucy had dropped on the mage. Now, she stood up, bleeding from everywhere, and grabbed one of her keys. "Leo!" She yelled, and the lion spirit was suddenly there, beating away any who attacked the Lucy attached to the _Rashus_ mage. Hisoka's confusion was cleared up when the Lucy who was bleeding poofed into two smaller people. She'd used Gemini as a distraction so that she could get close to one of the mages and steal all of their magic. Smart strategy. Now it was his turn.

"Hey Jon, could you drop me off near Lucy?" Hisoka asked. "Then you can do whatever demons do to make toys behave and go back into the toy chest."

Jon heaved, what sounded like, a sigh and muttered something unintelligible before grabbing Hisoka again and lifting him clear of the tree he'd been standing on. Then they were zooming in on Lucy's location where he was then dropped off, literally, but when he turned around, Jon was already gone. Hisoka hoped he hadn't gone home, they really needed his help. He didn't have to worry because Jon appeared on the other side of the battlefield with a giant boulder in his claws.

Hisoka didn't watch him drop it, but instead focused on the music -still playing- and summoned up his magic. He really should have remembered his lessons with Jhanae, Comaha, and Mihio sooner. Raising the dead _did_ take up a lot of magic, but who said he actually had to _raise_ the dead to fight the enemy?Closing his eyes, he breathed in- and out in the same familiar rhythm of meditation. Whatever song was playing -was it R.I.P?- was perfect for his illusion magic.

First, he called up a dense mist from the rain and had it swarm the area, then he used his illusions and made it seem as though the dead were coming from out of the jungle. As soon as he was done with the illusion, he started to raise the real dead, and that took up all his attention. By this time, Lucy had finished stealing all of the mage's magic and he was unconscious on the ground. Who knew someone could have so much? She watched as Hisoka did his magic and couldn't help but smile.

An idea had come to her while she'd been draining. If she'd stolen some magic from all her past enemies, then couldn't she use Sherry's ability? Lucy shut her eyes and tried remembering how Sherry had used her magic, what movements she'd made and what she'd said. There wasn't any wood around that would allow her to control them and there wasn't any mud either. It was kind of pointless to try and control her own spirits, so she jumped to the only thing really left -water. It was still raining and the mist was so heavy she was practically breathing in as much water as air.

She dug around in her internal 'chest' for Sherry's magic, and found the pink ball tucked away in a corner. Lucy rolled it over in her mind and dove into its center. This was Sherry's magic and it knew how it was supposed to be used, so Lucy followed its, well, instructions -for lack of a better term. She could feel with the magic, the water in the air pulling together and forming a colossal giant before her and Hisoka. "Water doll." She said aloud, completing the spell and opening her eyes. There was indeed a giant doll before her, made up completely of water that swished around like and angry storm.

Unsure of what to do next, Lucy moved her right pinky finger and ring finger. The right arm and hand on the giant moved up. She then moved both her hands forward and brought down the fingers she'd raised. The giant leaned forward in turn and slammed its hand down on a group of unsuspecting _Rashus_, one of which was the bald headed mage. The giant 'thud' cause many to turn their heads and run away screaming. The thing was almost as tall as the canopy and still growing because it was still raining. The _Theisia (the name of the tribe Lucy's in) _warriors gave a victory cry as the _Rashus_ retreated, carrying their wounded with them. The only remaining mage, the female, carried the one wind manipulator out and another warrior carried the bald mage off the battlefield.

If the rest of the warriors she'd sent out had done what she'd told them to, then the _Rashus_'s numbers should be down by quite the large majority. As Lucy began to smile from the victory, she suddenly felt her stomach drop and the strength drain from her body. Her magic, or rather Sherry's magic, was all used up. The water doll collapsed and flooded the entire area. Lucy couldn't lift her arms, let alone brace herself against the impact, so when the water hit her, she was knocked off her feet and washed away with the current.

She tried to grab onto something, but her muscles were like overcooked noodles and wouldn't stand for any contracting. She drifted for what seemed like forever and came to rest in a bed of mud concealed by big leafed plants, where she laid and slowly sunk down into the cool earth. Her eyelids drooped -they were so heavy- until they finally closed and her mind wound down. So, this is what it's like to use magic that doesn't belong to me. Best start practicing soon. It was her last thought before sleep finally took her.

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><p>There was a knock and Kaizoku had the door open before the second could be delivered. There stood a maid who just barely missed rapping the boy on the nose. In her other hand was a large tray with delicious looking food that Kaizoku was already drooling over. Erza had to laugh.<p>

"Um, your food's here Miss Scarlet." The maid announced awkwardly.

Erza got up from her seat on the bed and, still chuckling, walked over to take the tray and thank the maid. She set the tray down on the desk in the room and asked Kaizoku to close the door. As soon as he did, he rushed to the bathroom to wash his hands. It had taken him a while to learn that he couldn't eat unless he was clean. He understood that taking a bath every once in a while was good, but he couldn't get the concept of constantly having to wash before meals, or after working, or before cooking and such.

"Why do I have to wash so much?" He'd once asked her during their first week together.

"Because you get sick if you don't wash. Do you know how many bugs could have laid eggs behind your ears? Or how many diseases you could pick up from a small scratch on your body?" She'd told him. Of course, he now washed behind his ears whenever her could and tended to every cut he got. She'd been joking about the bug part, but hey, that's how grandma Hilda had gotten everyone to wash behind their ears when they were still kids.

While he was in the bathroom, Erza set out his food and poured him his milk. When he came out, he went straight to his food and Erza went to wash her hands. It was in the middle of their meal that an urgent pounding came at the door. Confused and a little peeved, Erza set down her plate and went to get the door.

Apparently she wasn't fast enough and Eve shouted through the door, "Natsu's awake!" She was out the door and down the stairs before the clerk out front could finish sneezing.

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><p>Sorry to make you all have to wait even longer to find out what happened to Uma, but I gotta build suspense somehow. Now not only do you have to wait to find out what happened to Uma, but to Lucy too and Natsu's finally awake! Don't forget to REVIEW please and THANK YOU for READING again. ^ - \^


	31. I saw her

**Relpaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>I am a horrible person. Pond scum. I made you all wait for almost a month. I'm really sorry. I don't know why this chapter was so hard to write. I'm at a difficult spot in the story right now and I'm sorry for causing you trouble. It's like an unplanned road trip; I know where I'm going, but I'm not sure exactly how I'm gonna get there. Gomenasai again. I hope you can all forgive me.<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 31- "I saw her"<strong>

Happy was lying next to Lila, panting and completely exhausted. Ferrying injured people took a lot of energy, and he was suddenly happy for the training he'd done with Lucy and Hisoka or else he wouldn't have been able to last this long. He would have been tuckered out after the first five or six people, but now he had ferried close to a hundred from the battlefield to the tree house.

"Lila!" someone shouted worried. Happy looked up at the same time Lila did and spotted Hisoka running toward them. Lila hopped to her feet and ran to meet her brother, almost knocking him over when they collided. "Lila." He said it in relief this time, but Lila was bawling so much she couldn't speak right.

"What happened to grandma? How is she?" He asked, fearing the worst, but Lila couldn't voice a coherent answer.

Hugging his sister tight, he looked around for an answer Lila couldn't give. It was Comaha that came up to him and hugged the siblings. Hisoka looked at her, not wanting to believe what everybody's body language was telling him.

"What is it? What state is she in?" He demanded. His vision was starting to blur.

"She's with the _Danai_ now. Her and Mihio are doing everything they can to keep her with us." Comaha explained in a low voice. His teacher swallowed and looked him in the eye. "It doesn't look good Hisoka. I don't know how long she'll be with us." Comaha's voice squeaked and a tear escaped her eye.

She put a hand over her mouth and drew in a shuddering breath. "Where's Lucy?" She suddenly asked in a shaky voice.

"We don't know." Hisoka sniffed. "She made a giant water thing with her magic. It might have been stolen magic because all of a sudden, it collapsed and the entire area was washed out. She was so weak from using up so much magic, she couldn't hold on to anything, so she got washed away with everything else. We searched around the area, but no one's been able to find her."

"How far out did you look?" Comaha asked.

"Not very far. We didn't have time to look. We had to get the injured back here as soon as we could." Hisoka explained.

"We still have people buried under the debris, and those that are injured or helping to treat the injured are out there searching for people who are still buried. We don't have anyone left to spare on a search party." Comaha stated worriedly, eyes darting from face to face around the area. "She'll have to wait until we can get everyone else to safety." She then brought her eyes back to Hisoka's and held them. "I'm sorry Hisoka." And then she turned and disappeared to help with the digging.

If everyone else was busy, then it was up to him to find Lucy, and Lila could help. "Lila." He whispered gently as he hugged her to him. "I need your help finding Lucy. It'll keep us busy and doing something useful." He grabbed her shoulders and made her look at him. "Can you do that for me?"

Lila sniffed and rubbed her puffy red eyes, then nodded with a trembling lip. "Okay. Good. Grab what you need and we'll be on our way."

"I'm coming, too." Hisoka looked up to see Happy walking up beside Lila with a determined look on his face.

"Aren't you needed here, Happy? To help move people?" Hisoka asked, frowning.

"I lost Lucy once, I'm not about to lose her again. They can manage without me." He said stubbornly.

Hisoka was about to argue, but then gave up before he started. Happy wasn't the Happy he'd met two and a half months ago. He was a lot more stubborn and quite a bit stronger. For a flying cat, he'd mastered a magic he'd never tried before quite well, and in such short a time, too. He would be an asset to the group.

"Fine. The more people we have out looking for her, the better out chances of finding her before the enemy does." Hisoka said with a grim face as Lila came back with the box that held her Seeing crystal. Hisoka snagged a horse and put Lila on it, then swung up behind her and led the horse back to the village ruins.

* * *

><p>"When will everything be ready?" Asked the man with the giant hat. Lucy stood back in the shadows and kept her rank 1 spirit form, the one nobody could see. She had long since ranked out the forms she could take in her Waking Dreams, and this was the very first she had ever taken and it was the best for spying. Lucy'd had to master this part of her power on her own.<p>

"It's almost ready. A couple more weeks at the earliest." The other man said in a slick voice. Lucy gulped; that voice always made her skin crawl.

"Good. I want the plan executed as soon as possible. I've been waiting for the fall of Fairy Tail since they brought down my guild and humiliated me." The man slammed a fist on the table as he said it and clenched it tighter.

"I just want the dragon slayer." The reptilian one said in a dangerously low voice.

It was silent for a long minute before the first finally asked, "And what of the ice mage? What became of him?"

Cobra was quiet for a moment too long before answering. "He's taken care of. You don't need to worry about him."

Jose's narrowed the tiniest degree, but he said nothing. Whether Cobra had killed him or not didn't matter, as long as it wouldn't ruin their plans. Lucy's mouth was tight with anger and anticipation as she moved to her next location. Gray.

When she arrived, she sighed in relief. Natsu was awake and Gray seemed to be in better shape, through, he still wasn't awake. She focused on Gray and turned her back to Natsu. Even though he couldn't see her, it still stung when she saw him. Time hadn't done anything for her feelings. They were as strong, if not stronger than when she left. If only Natsu wasn't so dense, would it have turned out differently?

Lucy had to smile grimly as she answered her own question. Of course not. He would have chosen Lisanna over her any day. It all came down to who knew who first. Lucy's chin started to tremble and she ducked her head down. She had to leave before she felt any worse, and she did.

When she opened her eyes, she was surprised to find that she was not on the ground, lying in a mud pit as she had remembered. Instead, she was staring at what looked like the inside of a tree trunk. Where was she? When she tried to sit up, she discovered she couldn't move a muscle without causing pain to come shooting down the limb.

"I suppose this is what I get for using magic that isn't mine." she muttered.

_I believe it is._ Was the soft answer.

Lucy jumped up, startled, only to collapse again and cry out as the pain rippled through her whole body.

_Easy young one, you're body is in no condition to move._ A very familiar face then appeared in her line of sight and she relaxed.

"It's just you. Good. That makes this all the more comforting and a lot less uneasy." Lucy allowed the _Dokukiba_ to whistle her back into a laying position where she was more comfortable before asking, "How did you find me?"

The look she was given made it seem like the answer was an obvious one, but she answered anyway. _I sniffed you out. I wouldn't have noticed you if I hadn't been so familiar with your scent. You were half submerged in a mud pit. _

"Oh." Lucy hadn't thought it was _that_ bad. She remembered the mud, but thought it had just been the topsoil and nothing more. "Thank you, for saving me then."

_No need to thank me. I was just returning the favor._ Lucy had to think for a second to remember what she was talking about. It seemed so long ago she'd saved this _Dokukiba's_ life.

At this, Lucy frowned. "I never did learn your name."

The _Dokukiba_ took her time laying down across from Lucy where she could keep an eye on the girl. _My name is Shiba._

"That's a very pretty name, Shiba." Lucy rolled it on her tongue and frowned. "Didn't you have a baby? Because that first time we met, you dug out a smaller version of yourself."

_Yes, that was my child._

"Is he here?" Lucy asked, trying to look around and regretting the result.

_No. Shirestone is not here. He's somewhere safe. _Dokukiba_ hide their young for the first few years of its life. I move him every so often to avoid detection._

"Why?"

_The humans here value our hides and our barb' poison. The best time to kill a _Dokukiba_ is when we are small and unable to defend ourselves. Our barbs aren't done growing until we are three years old and our whistle magic isn't very strong at that age. _Shiba explained, laying her head down and closing her eyes. _Go back to sleep Lucy, your body needs the rest._

Before Lucy could protest, Shiba began to hum something. Lucy could feel it in the earth beneath her and her eyes closed before she could order them not to. It wasn't long before Lucy drifted off into a deep sleep where she had real dreams instead of Waking ones.

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><p>"Natsu!" Erza burst into the room, slamming the door open and nearly breaking it off in the process.<p>

Rayu blew up. "I told you people to STAY OUT! Why is that so hard to understand!?"

Erza didn't seem to hear him. She went straight to Natsu's bed to find out if he was, indeed, awake. His eyes were closed. "Natsu?" Erza called, staring intensely.

The dragon slayer's eyes snapped open and Erza was staring into their black depths. He frowned. "Erza? What are you doing here?"

"_I_ was following the trail Gray left behind. It ended here at Blue Pegasus. What were _you_ doing before you got run over?" The red head demanded, propping her hands on her hips and scowling down at her friend.

"Me?" He pointed to himself then scratched his head. "What _was_ I doing?"

Erza's eye twitched and she wheeled on Ichiya. "You caused him memory loss. I'll return the courtesy." She growled as she bashed him upside the head with her armor clad arm.

"Stop breaking my patients." Rayu's hate was emanating in purple clouds from his body. But, Erza being who she was, didn't notice, even as it came up behind her and hovered, promising impending doom if she did anything else she wasn't supposed to.

"Wait," Natsu whispered. Then he sat up so fast his half healed ribs protested and he cried out in pain. "Gray. Where's Gray? I-I was tracking him when I came to a road and that's all I can remember. What happened? Where is he?" He was trying to look around, but the lights popping into his eyes from the pain blocked out the majority of the room.

Erza laid her hands on his shoulders and gently pushed him back down on the bed. "Calm down Natsu. You were hit by an SE carriage Ichiya was driving. Gray's just about as fine as you are. He's in the bed next to you." She explained.

As he struggled to look in either direction to find Gray, Erza had to push him down again. "Natsu." She made the dragon slayer look at her. "Don't worry about him right now. For now, focus on getting better, and _then_ you can worry about Gray."

Natsu stared into Erza's brown eyes for a long time, seeming to be looking for something. He seemed to find whatever he'd been looking for and relaxed against the bed once more.

"How long have I been here?" He asked rationally.

"A few weeks. You were in a comatose the whole time." Erza looked over her shoulder at Gray who was still lying motionless and unresponsive on his bed. "Gray still is."

"I saw her." Natsu's voice was so quiet, she almost didn't hear him.

"What? Saw who?" She crossed her arms over her chest and sat down in a chair placed near the bed.

"Lucy."

Erza froze. "You. . . saw. . . Lucy." It wasn't a question for conformation. It was a statement of shock.

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><p>I'm sorry again for the long wait. I hope it never happens again. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. The climax is coming soon and just to clear things up about the timeline, this is month 11. The antagonists are revealed and the story is about to get really intense! PLEASE REVIEW! And thank you!<p>

^/ _ \^


	32. Lost Friends

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>I'm sorry that it took so long to get this chapter written, but I think you'll understand WHY when you finish reading it.<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 32- Lost Friends<strong>

"Damn it." Hisoka cursed under his breath. "Where is she?" The horse fidgeted under his tight grip on the reins. A shadow passed overhead. "Happy, have you found anything?" He called, looking up.

"No. Nothing." Happy landed on his shoulder. Sweat streaked his blue and black striped fur. The dye was now a permanent part of his fur due to his special training he'd been doing.

"Damn. . . Where the hell is she?" He looked down at Lila who was sitting in front of him. She had her crystal in between her hands and was staring at it, deep in a trance. Hisoka was impatient enough to break it. "Lila, have you got anything?"

She blinked and then shook her head like she was waking up from a bad dream. "I can't seem to find her anywhere. It's like she's in some really dense fog or something." Lila held her head with one hand, it hurt now, and her crystal ball in the other. The horse had finally had enough pain in its tender mouth and reared. Lila screamed and clung to the horse's neck. Hisoka yanked back on the reins.

"Loosen the reins Hisoka!" Happy cried as he leaped into the air to get clear of the animal. "You're hurting his mouth!" Hisoka let go of the reins and fell off the animal's back to land in the dirt.

The horse landed back on all fours and skipped away from him, with Lila still clinging to its back. It shook its head to lessen the pinching in its mouth and pawed at the ground, which flung mud everywhere. Hisoka then leaped for the reins and pulled the bit back so that it didn't pinch the horse's mouth anymore.

"Maybe you should walk for a while Hisoka." Happy suggested. "You've been riding for hours and this guy has been towing your weight and Lila's the whole time. Give him a rest and you need a break."

"What? A break is out of the question." Hisoka turned on Happy, scowling.

"Take a break, Hisoka. You're clearly letting your emotions get in the way of your judgment, and your eyes apparently." Happy said crossly, crossing his front paws in front of him as best he could.

Hisoka was about to retort back, but shut his mouth and then frowned unhappily. "What do you mean my eyes?"

Happy sighed and rolled his eyes before he flew over and pointed to the thick mud at Hisoka's feet.

"It's mud." Hisoka pointed out. Happy facepawed his face and glided closer to point out the depression of mud that was almost gone. It was in the shape of a body. "Lucy." Hisoka stiffed.

"She's not here anymore, from the way the mud looks. It seems she was pulled out by something." Happy said, thinking.

"Or someone." Hisoka said through gritted teeth.

"No, I don't think a human pulled her out. Look at this." Happy pointed to another depression in the mud. It was much bigger than any human foot and the toes were off.

"Let's just hope it was friendly." Lila said from atop the horse.

"Yeah, let's hope we find her before something happens to her.

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><p>Lucy was dreaming of that spring day when she missed the cherry blossom viewing with the guild because she'd gotten a horrible cold. And she remembered how Natsu had floated the sakura tree down the river in front of her apartment. She'd been so happy when he did that. But as the tree was passing, Lucy heard a call. Well, it was more like someone was pulling at her with an invisible string, tugging her gently away from one of her happiest memories and back into the exhausting reality of Waking Dreams.<p>

Reluctantly, she left her dream and followed the tugging. She was half curious as to what it led to because she'd never felt something tugging at her attention before. As she came nearer her destination, her surroundings started to blur into colors and shapes and she suddenly knew where she was before the room finished forming. This was Uma's room in the tree house, and Uma lay on the bed, looking extremely pale and unnaturally thin.

The _Danai_ was seated next to her bed holding Uma's hand and concentrating on trying to heal the old woman, even though the _Danai _was hurt herself. Just one look at Uma's injuries had Lucy tearing up.

"_Uma."_ She said, already in her rank 4 spirit stage where she was visible and able to touch material things. _The __Danai_ looked up, startled, and spotted Lucy's spirit form.

"Lucy." was all that she was able to say as she swallowed a hard lump.

"_How is she?"_ Lucy asked shakily, afraid of the answer.

The _Danai_ mashed her lips into a thin line and shook her head. "Her wounds are great, and her body is not what it once was. There are burns of varying degrees all over her body and more than one broken bone." As she spoke, Lucy slowly walked over to her teacher and took her free hand. "I can only do so much."

Lucy looked at the _Danai_ with painful hope. _"Can't you save her?"_

Again, the _Danai_ shook her head. "I am a healer, not a god." She was silent for a moment. "Lucy, I was only asked to keep her alive until she got to talk to you. That was her request when she was brought to me." The _Danai_ explained.

"And you have done well by it." came a croaky voice from the bed. Both the _Danai_ and Lucy looked down at Uma, who had her eyes open. "Thank you, _Danai_. You have done what I asked. If you would leave me with Lucy please?"

Without a word and a nod to Uma, the _Danai_ left on crutches. Uma watched her go before turning her face towards Lucy. Her student was crying as she looked at her and Uma tried to smile.

"I'm fine Lucy. Save your tears for another day." She said, moving her fingers that Lucy had already placed on her face.

"_But Uma, you're-."_ Lucy started, but hiccuped halfway through.

"Yes, I know Lucy. I want you to listen to me now while I can still talk." Uma said, and coughed. Lucy waited, helpless and attentively tense for Uma's words. "Lucy. In _Za Numa Za Rosuto,_ behind the waterfall, you will find a clear pool in a small cave back there. Look into the pool and you'll find seven hand sized stones. I want you to go get those stones when you come back here with your real body and I want you to open them. They are the gift I was going to give you when you finished your training with me, but seeing as how I am now, I won't be able to make it that far."

She coughed again and this time, Lucy had to give her something to drink to ease the heaves. "Besides, I think you've pretty much mastered being a Star Gazer and a Sun Thief. You know the true way to use your magic. Please continue with Hisoka's training, he almost has it down, and help Lila with hers. She has a lesser version of Star Gazer magic, and don't forget to meditate everyday, all of you."

Uma then had a coughing fit and Lucy got her more water. "Take the book I gave you, Lucy, and continue to read it. Then, when you have finished, write your own entry and add to the history. Hisoka has one too, make sure he takes it with him. I know there's been something you've been worried about with your guild, but could you please take Hisoka and Lila with you when you go?"

Lucy, unable to speak and choked by tears, could only nod.

"Oh, I left something for Hisoka and Lila too, in that place behind the waterfall. Give it to them when you think they're ready. You were a good student Lucy, the best I've had in a long time. Keep practicing your hand to hand combat training and your weapons training, and keep out of trouble." She smiled a faint smile at her student.

"_I will, Uma, I will. Don't worry about Hisoka and Lila. I'll take care of them. I swear I will."_ Lucy promised, holding the old woman's hand to her face and rubbed the smooth skin on her tear stained cheeks.

"That's my girl. Take care Lucy." Uma's voice was faded by the time she'd said Lucy's name, and her eyes closed with a small, peaceful smile on her face.

"_Uma."_ Lucy choked as she looked at her teacher's peaceful state. _"Uma."_ Lucy finally broke down sobbing. After a while, when Lucy had calmed down some, she gently lay Uma's hands on her stomach and stood back. Tears were still coming down her cheeks as she said, _"Uma, thank you for being my teacher, and thank you for being my friend. I'll do as you ask and let you go peacefully. I hope to see you again one day when it's my time to move on. I am very grateful to you for all you've done for me. I leave you now in peace. Goodbye Uma." _Lucy leaned over and gently kissed her teacher's forehead as a final goodbye, and then stepped back into the fading dream.

When she next opened her eyes, she was in the room Shiba had put her in. She could feel the tears on her face and she just let the sadness overtake her and she sobbed. Shiba said nothing as she heard the girl cry out her sadness for the loss of her dear teacher.

It was night by the time Lucy finally ran out of tears to shed. "Shiba." She finally asked.

_What is it small one?_ Shiba asked in a quiet, soothing voice.

"Do- do you-." Lucy was still crying, though she had no more tears left to shed. "Do you know- w-wh-where Hisoka and Lila are?" She asked. "I-I have to- have to tell them- about- about U- Um- I have to tell them about their grandmother. She left them to me to take care of, and- and it's my duty as- as the last one who was with her- to- to tell them that she's- she's- that she passed on." Shiba listened to Lucy as she struggled to get the words out. "I- I have to be the one- who tells them- tells them what happened- to Uma."

Uma's name was too much for Lucy and she broke down again in sobs. Shiba waited until Lucy was calmed down again before answering.

_Yes, I know where they are, and I can take you to them since you are still unable to move very well. _Shiba whistled a simple tune, which lifted Lucy into the air and onto her back. _Just wrap your arms around my neck Lucy._ Lucy did so -at least she'd gotten _some_ movement back- and let Shiba spread her wings to fly out of her home.

The blonde watched the trees pass by and wondered idly, _What am I going to do now?_ She still had a whole month until she had to return, and she didn't want to go back early. Besides, she still had some things she needed to do. It seemed that Shiba found her family in no time at all, and Happy too. The poor horse they were with got frightened out of its wits and reared.

_Oh, quite your hysterics, I'm not going to hurt you, you stupid beast. _Shiba scolded it. The horse went down on all fours and began eating the foliage on the ground as if nothing had ever happened. All the humans stared at it, Hisoka and Lila in amazement, Lucy in dull recognition that something unnatural had happened.

Then, Happy, who'd been looking back and forth between Shiba and the horse who'd been so difficult earlier, noticed the blonde on Shiba's back.

"Lucy!" He cried, zooming over to her and helping her to sit up. Hisoka and Lila immediately forgot the horse and looked at the giant _Dokukiba_ to see that, yes indeed, Lucy was there and looking eerily pale under her tan. They could tell by looking at her that she was weak and had a hard time lifting her own weight. Both ran over to help her down and when her feet touched the ground, her knees seemed to buckle and she went down on her hands and knees.

"Lucy! Are you alright?" Hisoka asked worriedly, going down on one knee before her, hands hovering to help her, but not knowing what to do.

Suddenly, Lucy wrapped her arms around both Hisoka and Lila and said one thing, "I'm sorry."

"Lucy?" Hisoka was confused and worried.

"Lucy? What's wrong." Lila touched Lucy's face and for the first time, noticed their redness and a tear slid down to wet Lila's tiny fingers. "Why are you crying?" She was scared now.

Lucy only shook her head against their shoulders and repeated, "I'm sorry."

"Lucy, what's going on?" Hisoka asked again, a little more frightened now.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Lucy cried and hugged them tighter. "Grandma's gone."

! ! !

The shock was silencing. "What?" Lila finally asked in her shaky little voice. Lucy could feel her body quivering. "How can you be sure? You've been out here somewhere."

Lucy shook her head again and looked at the little blonde. "Waking Dreams can be a cruel thing sometimes."

Lila got what she was saying and started bawling into Lucy's shoulder. Lucy looked over at Hisoka -she could feel his body quivering- and saw he was crying. She put her hand at the back of his head and drew it to her shoulder, where he let out his grief.

"I was there." Lucy said as she comforted her cousins. "I was there when she went." And Lucy sobbed along with them. Shiba respectfully turned away and thought of her own child and what it might be like to lose him. She knew what this family was going through, and she knew the sadness of losing a loved one. She'd lost her mate after she'd had Shirestone. He'd been protecting her and the baby from enemies.

Everyone was so caught up in their emotions that not one of them noticed the enemy until they heard the explosion. Lucy held tight to Hisoka and Lila as they were all knocked down and thrown into a tree. They heard a menacing hissing sound and then some of Shiba's whistling. Lucy opened her eyes and saw her magic yank a _Rashus_ hunter from the trees above and rip his head off. She also saw the very large chunk of flesh that was missing from Shiba's side.

"Shiba!" Lucy screamed, pushing herself to her feet and stumbling over to her. "Oh, my god, Shiba." Lucy shook from head to toe. There was a flash and another explosion. "SHIBA!" Lucy screamed as she was once again slammed into a tree. This time, one of the hunters fell out of the tree and screamed until he him the ground. Lucy looked up and saw that Happy had pushed him. Hisoka drew his sword and redirected the next attack, which was from ground level this time, and killed the third hunter. Lucy asked the plants if there were anymore, and they confirmed that they were all dead.

"Shiba!" Lucy _dragged_ her weak body over to the _Dokukiba_ and saw the damage that the second hit dealt. She could no longer fly and her leg was missing. "Shiba." The blonde's voice was small as she touched Shiba's brow.

The eye opened up and that golden eye stared back at her. She blinked and started whistling a soft tune and Lucy was suddenly being pulled through the forest with Shiba until they reached a place where bright green moss covered several huge fallen trees. Lucy could see a little hole under one tree where something could squeeze in, or hide. She blinked and she was back with Shiba and her family. When she looked at Shiba's eye again, it was closed, and Shiba wasn't moving.

"SHIBA!" Lucy threw her head back and screamed out her agony. Lila and Hisoka cried with her.

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><p>I was bawling the whole time I wrote this! I'm STILL crying. I miss Uma and Shiba already! WAHH! TT 0 TT<p>

Please don't forget to review.


	33. He's Awake

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>I am so sorry that it had taken so long. I have had so many deadlines in the past two months, it's not even funny. I never thought that Senior year was so busy. I've written I don't know how many essays. There are all the scholarships I have to apply for and college stuff to search up it's rediculous. I thought that when school started I'd get back to my regular routine. It turned out to be just the opposite. Again I am really sorry, but I hoppe that you enjoy this chapter and I will get the next one up as soon as I possibly can. Thank you for being patient.<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 33- He's Awake<strong>

"You. Saw. Lucy." Erza repeated again slowly. She was having a hard time swallowing this bit of information. It was like a lump in her throat. It was hard to believe, with Lucy having been gone so long and no one but the Master knowing where she went, or if she would ever return. "Where?" She finally asked. "_When?_" The look that Erza gave Natsu made him want to hug her and comfort her, but he was so horrified at the thought of hugging Erza that he scared himself from doing so. Erza would have pummeled him to dust if he had.

"When I was hurt, I guess." Natsu said, rubbing his forehead, which was bandaged. "All I really remember after the blinding lights is kind of blurry. But I remember seeing green everywhere and Lucy was looking at me." Natsu rubbed his head a little harder, it was bothering him for some reason. "She- she said something, I think, but I don't. . . remember. . . what. . . it was." The dragon slayer finally grasped his head in both of his hands and whimpered it hurt so bad.

Erza was shocked when he made the sound. She'd never heard Natsu _whimper_ before. She'd thought it was impossible for him to make any such sound of weakness. But then again, he was human, and he was in pain. It also didn't help that a lot of damage was dealt to his head, so he wasn't exactly in his right mind.

"Are you sure you saw Lucy?" Erza asked, now unsure if he told the truth or if it was just a hallucination he saw.

"Yes, because after she said whatever she said, I ended up back here, and then I blacked out." He winced again and took in a sharp breath. Rayu was there instantly with a needle filled with clear liquid.

"He needs some more rest. Even though most of his injuries healed when he was in that short comatose, his head injuries are still bad. He needs to heal those before he does anything else." Rayu explained as he emptied the needle into the drip going into Natsu's arm.

"But he just woke up." Erza argued.

Rayu turned to her with a hard face. "He needs to heal Titania." He looked over his shoulder at Natsu, who was now asleep. "And besides that, I've something I need to tell you."

Erza, always uneasy about news, backed off the argument and waited for him to speak.

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><p>They returned the hour before dawn came, Lucy atop the horse, Lila and Hisoka on foot, and Happy gliding low beside them. All looked like they'd been through a hard ordeal. Those who were about, stopped what they'd been doing to watch the group pass, and then one by one, bowed. They'd all heard about Uma's passing, and were sure that they knew as well. The <em>Danai<em> had told them everything.

"Hisoka," Came Comaha's soft voice. The necromancer looked dead and didn't even look up in recognition of the voice that called him. Yes, they definitely knew Uma had passed.

As they neared the tree house, people came forward to help Lucy, who'd gotten more strength back, off the horse and into the house. They were wise enough not to put her in the room where Uma had died, but they had to pass by it and a single tear escaped Lucy's eye as they did. Now she knew how Gray and Lyon felt about losing Ur.

Hisoka and Lila stayed with Lucy in her room and set up some pallets on the floor. They fell asleep before the noon meal was brought, but Lucy lay awake, seeming to be staring at the ceiling. The _Danai_ did a healing on her, and Lucy remained unresponsive, so she was left alone. It was some time after midnight when everything finally went quiet, the people gone to bed.

Finally, Lucy moved. Looking to her side, she found a pair of crutches leaning against the chair. Seeing those, she made her resolve and sat up. Her muscles still ached, but now, thanks to the _Danai's_ healing, she could move on her own, mostly. Hisoka and Lila were so deeply in sleep, they didn't hear Lucy crutch her way out of the room. It was silent outside. Even the cicadas were quiet. Lucy only stopped for a moment to notice before she turned in the direction of the pond.

Even though it was normally a short walk to the pond, it felt like a mile to Lucy in her state. Healing as she was, she was not yet strong enough to rush anywhere. When she got to the pond, a bit of moonlight shone down through the trees and danced on its surface. Without really thinking her plan through, she dropped the crutches and plunged into the frigid water. If she was feeling sleepy, the icy cold water woke her right up. Shivering severely, she turned over to float on her back and back stroked. It was easier than facing forward. Slowly, and going under more than once, she made her way over to the waterfall. Bracing her aching body as much as she could, she dove under it and felt its power beat down on her back as she passed through. She went down instead of up and she panicked. Struggling frantically against the strong downward thrust, Lucy plowed upwards and broke the surface, inhaling a big gulp of air before going under again and resurfacing to find herself behind the waterfall where there was indeed a small cave.

After using most of her strength to haul herself up onto the solid rocks, she flopped down and heaved out water. Her body was shivering out of control now as she crawled forward into the cave to find the pool Uma had mentioned. She found the pool farther down in the cave and around a corner, however, it wasn't the drive to find the pool that made her go down there, it was the bright blue and green glow that was coming from it. Lucy was awestruck when she came down into the small cavern. The walls were covered in all sorts of precious, and non-precious, gems of all sizes and they were all glowing. Even the ones in the water shone warmly and at the bottom, like Uma had said, were seven hand sized normal looking stones and one really long one that had the width of two of the small stones.

Lucy got over her marveling and dove in head first to get more depth. She would need as much as she could possibly get if she wanted to reach her prizes. The pressure built up in her ears the farther down she went and it felt like they were going to burst any second now. Her hand touched the bottom of the pool at the same moment the pressure in her ears popped and she was flooded with a strange warmth. It was like coming into a fire warmed room after a long time out in the cold of winter, or hugging someone that you had not seen in a long time. It was a comforting kind of warmth, and she welcomed it into her aching body.

Before she realized it, she was pulling herself out of the pool with three of the stones in her arms. They were surprisingly light for their size and it made her wonder what was inside them. She also noticed as she got out to dive down again that the pool water was really warm, unlike the waterfall outside. It was like it was heated. The cold cavern drove her back into the water and thinking that she would think about this odd place later, after she got what she had come for. Lucy grabbed the next three and placed them by the others before retrieving the last small one.

Now that she had gotten all of the small ones up, she hovered in the warm water, looking down at the bigger one, and wondered how she was going to get it to the top. She really didn't have much clothing on that could hold something that big, except for maybe her wraparound. Lucy looked at it as it swirled around in the water and contemplated. There was nothing else available that was long enough to wrap around the stone, and it wasn't like she didn't have any underwear on. Nobody would see her in here anyways, so what did she have to lose really? Nothing at all.

Lucy hoisted herself up onto the wet rock again and took off her wraparound and replaced it on her arm for easy access when she got down there. She did her deep breathing exercises for longer time under the water before she dove down again for the fourth time. When she reached the last stone, she took the wraparound from her arm and wrapped it three times around the stone and tied the remaining ends together to form a kind of sling that she slipped over her head and under one of her arms. When she thought it was secure enough, she used the bottom of the pool as leverage and pushed off as hard as she could.

This stone was definitely heavier than the other ones, but it was also lighter than a stone its size should be. It was like it was hollow or something. By the time she neared the surface, her lungs were bursting for oxygen and the stone seemed to grow heavier as the pressure lessened. The surface seemed only a few feet away, but Lucy felt she couldn't reach it. She was out of oxygen and couldn't hold her breath anymore. As an instinctual reflex, she inhaled for air, but received water into her lungs and she choked. The warm pool that had given her strength before now sucked it out of her and gave her no more. Lucy started sinking -she didn't have any strength in her legs to kick- and the surface that had been so close got farther away.

The celestial mage was getting sleepy, her consciousness was slipping away, and she hadn't the strength to fight anymore, so Lucy slowly closed her eyes as someone jumped into the water above her and swam in her direction.

* * *

><p>"What is so important that we have to be in a separate room from everyone else?" Erza asked, shifting on the uncomfortably stiff bed that was in the room. Rayu was leaning against the door, making sure no one was passing by.<p>

"Natsu was talking about seeing someone you know, right?" He began, for clarification.

"Yes." She didn't know where he was wanting to go with this.

"He did say that after he saw her, he 'ended up' in that room and then passed out again, did he not?" Rayu pressed, face calm.

"Yes. Rayu, what are you trying to get at? You heard what I heard." Erza said getting slightly annoyed, but still worried for Natsu.

"Natsu's heart had stopped for at least two minutes before we cleared him and brought him back. He was dead when he thought he saw this Lucy, Erza. He died, and his injuries were beyond the point of saving his life. I don't know what happened, but when he came back, his worst injuries were mended to the point where he could survive. It wasn't me who saved his life. Someone else did that." Rayu watched Erza's face as he spoke and saw it turn paler and paler, and her eyes go wider, and her mouth tighten into a thin line.

"Is there any brain damage?" She finally asked.

Rayu scratched the back of his head and stopped leaning on the door to go sit in the wooden chair. "It's hard to say. He just woke up, so I don't exactly have enough data to confirm it or not. It's too soon to say. We'll just have to wait and see if he acts any differently when he wakes up again in a better condition." He stood up and opened the door.

"Are you coming?" He asked when she didn't move.

Erza looked up. "Oh, yes." And she got up from the bed, shaky. "Thank you for telling me this, Rayu, and for all of your help with my comrades. If it wasn't for you, they would be dead."

The boy looked down with a slightly pink face. "No compliments, I get flustered and I can't work when I'm flustered."

Erza laughed as she exited the room -and was plowed over by her little puppy. She almost dragged Rayu down with her.

"Whoa there puppy, where are you running to?" Erza asked as she tried to right them both, but he clamped onto her arm like his life depended on it.

"_There_ you are! I've been looking everywhere for you! That guy just woke up and started screaming, only he didn't make any sound when he did. I came looking for you because it was really creepy." Kaizoku shivered at the memory.

"What do you mean? Natsu should be asleep right now." Rayu stated, eyebrows knit together as he helped them both onto their feet.

"Not that one, the other one. The one with black hair."

Rayu was sprinting down the hall before he even finished the sentence, and Erza was right after him as soon as he did.

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><p>"Lucy, Lucy." Someone was calling her name, and rather frantically at that. And why was her chest hurting so much? She then suddenly felt her body revolt and she choked out the water that had suffocated her before. "Lucy." She finally recognized Loke's voice as she heaved out the water from the pool. "Lucy."<p>

"Would you stop calling my name? I heard you." She snapped before she gave in to a coughing fit.

"What the hell were you doing? There have already been enough deaths as of late. There doesn't need to be another one." Lucy was surprised. She'd never seen Loke so angry before, and now that he was, she was a little relieved to know that he could be something other than happy and protective. And a pervert. Speaking of which. . . Lucy looked down to find that she was still in her underwear.

"Loke, give me your jacket." Lucy commanded. He did so without question and she tied it around her waist to cover up. "Thank you, and if you must know, I was getting this." She crawled over to the big stone that had been brought up.

"What is it?" He seemed a little more himself now.

"I don't know. I'm just supposed to open them up as ordered by Uma." Lucy examined the stone and found a thin line going all around it, so she tried to push the top half off and it slid open to reveal a sword and a black box.

There was a name on both addressed to Hiskoa and Lila. These must have been the gifts Lucy was to give them when she deemed them ready. There was one more thing in the stone that was not part of the gift -or maybe it was- and it was that in the stone where the gifts were, were also rubies attached to the inside. That's why the stone was lighter than it should have been. It was a ruby geode.

"These were her parting gifts to us. And these belong to me." She picked up one of the smaller geodes and proceeded to open it.

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><p>I hoped that you liked it. I was wondering if you all could help me with some of my projects in school. If you could all answer this question as detailed as you possibly can within the next week, it would help me out a lot.<p>

Q:Why do you put your dirty dishes in the sink before you have to wash them?

Weird question, I know, but please answer it as soon as possible and give as detailed an answer as possible. It's for my Sociology class. Thank you again for your patience and thanks for reading. Please don't forget to review the chapter and give me an answer to the question. I thank you and I'm sorry. I will update whenever I can and as soon as I can whenever I have the time.


	34. Gifts of Passing

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>I'm sorry it's been a while. As you can see, this chapter is a little longer and I'm excited for that. I'm kinda screwed on Sunday, though, because I have a choir performance at a church and I don't have my choir dress. It's locked up at school, so I don't know what I'm going to do. I can't just not show up because I signed up to go and that would be breaking Mr. B's trust. ACK! What am I going to do!? I also have a business plan that's due Monday for Economics! Being a Senior is hard! Please enjoy this chapter and don't forget to REVIEW!<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 34- Gifts of Passing<strong>

Lucy stared at the contents of all seven geodes, unbelieving of what she saw before her. Loke, too, was shocked.

"I thought they'd all been lost." He mused, picking up one geode to examine the gift inside.

"I've only heard about them in old stories. I never thought they were real." Lucy said, leaning over the geodes. Inside each geode was a celestial key, but these were white, not silver or gold.

"They're all here?" Loke questioned, looking them all over.

"Yeah, I believe so." Lucy nodded her head dumbly with her response.

These keys were supposed to have been a thing of legend, and yet here they were, sitting in water sealed geodes of citrine, ruby, emerald, and garnet. They were definitely real, too, as she picked one up to examine. They were made of real ivory, instead of bones as the legends say, and had very finely carved designs covering the whole key. The actual symbol of the key had a constellation on it, though it took her a second to figure it out because it looked like a connect-the-dots. Even though she was a celestial mage, Lucy still wasn't an expert on astrology, so she didn't recognize which constellation it was.

"They actually exist." Lucy was still ogling over the find. "She had them the whole time."

"But they locked themselves up in their palaces over two hundred years ago and haven't been summoned in all that time." Loke said, trying to make sense of things.

"You don't have to summon a spirit in order to own the key, Loke. It's just that it's hard _not_ to summon to summon them and make a contract." Lucy was still examining the one in her hand, trying to remember which constellation it was that was engraved on the key when it suddenly clicked and she gasped it hit her so hard. "It's Draconis!" She was so excited she jumped up and down and hugged Loke like a child at Christmas.

In her excitement, she picked up another key and looked at the constellation. This one she recognized easily. It was Orion. He should work well with Sagittarius. The next one she picked up was a constellation that she had never seen before, and the rest were all strange looking too. If the legends were true, though, then they should all be a type of mythical animal. Lucy was so excited that she couldn't help but do a little victory dance. Her grandmother was indeed an excellent person.

"Why don't you summon one of them?" Loke suggested, amused at his master's excitement.

Lucy then paused in her merriment and looked at him with an odd face for a moment before looking back at the keys in her hands. "No."

Loke blinked, surprised. "What? Why not?"

"If my grandmother didn't summon them in her time, and whoever before her never summoned them, then I don't think that I should summon them until I've finished reading the _Kequesix_ and the family book of gypsies. There has to be a reason that they didn't summon them and I want to find out that reason before I try summoning any of them." Lucy glanced down at the keys again. "As tempting as it is, I would rather be safe than sorry."

Loke had to think about her logic for a moment before nodding slowly. "I guess I see your point." He looked at the big geode again and picked up the box meant for Lila to examine it closer, only to find that something was hiding underneath it. It was a piece of blue and green cloth from the looks of it, and there was a note on top addressed to Lucy. Loke picked up the note in one hand and the cloth in the other, which made a jingling sound as silver coins attached to the colored cloth clanked against each other, and he read the note aloud.

"_'Lucy, I have left you this belt to use for your Sun Thief magic. Since you seem to need a place to store the magics you steal, I thought that this coin belt would do. You are a gypsy after all, so take up your namesake and dance with magic. I also give you my walking stick. It looks like one and works like one, but it can turn into any weapon you want it to be. You're a smart girl, you'll figure it out. I entrust all these things to you and pray that you will stay with Hisoka and Lila and give them their gifts when they are ready. Safe travels, Uma.'_"

Loke looked up when he was finished and saw Lucy was on the brink of tears as she felt the coin belt over and smoothed it in her lap -she'd taken it while Loke was reading. It took her a minute to compose herself. She took in a big breath through her nose and let it out through her mouth before she opened her eyes with a look of determination.

Lucy gathered up all the keys and hooked them to her key loop with the rest of her keys and then put on the coin belt. Once she had it secure around her waist, she took Hisoka's gift and thrust it into her sash. Lucy removed Lila's gift from the geode and sealed it back up again before pushing it back into the water. She repeated the process to all but one citrine geode and she stored that one up for later. She had a feeling she might need it.

She then picked up Lila's gift and turned to Loke. "Can you please help me back to the other side of the waterfall? I don't think I have the strength to make it past again."

Loke paused for a second before picking his mistress up bridal style. "With pleasure my lady." And he dove into the water and emerged on the other side. Gallant as he was, he carried her all the way to the shore as well before setting her on her feet, though she had insisted upon swimming the rest of the way.

"Thank you Loke." She said, shivering now that she was in open air. Lucy turned and looked about at her surroundings. It was false dawn now, and a dim light was filling the forest and what little sky that she could see.

Suddenly, a blanket was placed over her shoulders and, puzzled, Lucy looked over her shoulder to find Virgo with a towel and a change of clothes from the celestial realms. Lucy couldn't help but smile at her faithful spirit. "Thank you Virgo." She said, and started to peel off her cold, wet clothes. Loki respectfully turned away. In her spirit training, she'd broken him of his over excessive perverseness.

"You are most welcome Miss Lucy." Was Virgo's reply. Lucy had managed to break Virgo's habit of asking for punishments and 'Miss Lucy' was the closest Lucy could get her spirit to say her real name. It was still a working progress. When Lucy had dried off and changed into the drier clothes, she handed the wet ones to Virgo, except for the coin belt and other gifts. Lucy then fished about on her key ring until she found Scorpio.

"I summon thee, Scorpio." And Scorpio appeared as his usual happy and excited self.

"Hey! Whatchya need Mistress?" He asked.

"Can you dry this please?" Lucy held out the coin belt for inspection.

"Course I can." And Scorpio gladly dried it off with the heat of the desert before departing back to his girlfriend. Scorpio hadn't really needed any disciplining, it was his girlfriend, Aquarius who'd gotten it.

"Thank you." Lucy told him before he left and proceeded to adorn the the symbol of the gypsy. When she'd finished dressing, Virgo presented a mirror. Lucy didn't ask where she'd gotten it from.

Virgo had picked out a pair of harem pants that had the same bright orange color as her previous clothes and felt super soft, like silk or satin. There was a thinner sash, still red in color, that wrapped around the hem of her pants, more for holding weapons and other small things than for holding up her pants. Her shirt only covered her boobs and hung off her shoulders and came down with a three-quarters bell sleeve that opened out dramatically. It was made out of the same material as her pants and was still chocolate brown in color with one exception; there were small golden embroideries all along the hems with every sign of every celestial spirit, known and unknown.

"Thank you Virgo. It's beautiful." Lucy said, turning around in the mirror and examining with awe the excellent needlework. She then put the sword and geode in the sash and picked up the box again.

"My pleasure Miss Lucy." She said, bowing her head, and she disappeared back into the spirit realm.

As Lucy looked up to witness Virgo's departure, she caught sight of a hidden path in the forest. A small dirt path, which was quite strand considering no animal traveled the ground. Then, a memory came up in her mind and a soft voice called out to her. Without thinking about where she was going, she started running down the small path. That voice. She knew whose it was, yet she had never heard it before.

"Lucy! Where are you going?" Loke shouted, running after her.

Lucy didn't answer, she just kept running, following her memory and that voice that was so faint and slowly getting weaker. They came across the spot where Shiba had been killed. Someone had already removed the body, and for that she was grateful. She followed her memory, or rather, Shiba's memory, all the way to the pile of fallen trees, where her legs finally collapsed on her.

"Lucy!" Loke immediately went to see if she'd been harmed. "What happened?"

"I'm fine Loke. I'm just still weak from earlier." Lucy said, a little cross at her soreness and weakness of body. She looked at the small hole she'd seen in Shiba's memories and went still. Staring at her in the darkness was a pair of bright blue, almost white, eyes. They weren't at all like Shiba's golden ones.

"Lucy?" Loke asked when she stopped moving. He saw where her attention was fixed and focused his there as well, only to freeze in place like Lucy.

They stared at each other a long time and it was past dawn when Lucy finally said, "Hello." The thing didn't move, it just continued staring. "I'm Lucy. I knew your mother, Shiba." Her voice cracked when she said the name, and this time, it tilted its head to the side. Curiously or cautiously, she couldn't tell. "I am so sorry Shirestone." Tears made their way to her eyes as she talked. The baby trilled nervously and took a step back. "But your mother died yesterday. She left you in my care, Shire. I'm here to bring you back with me so that I can do what I promised your mother and take care of you."

At first, Shirestone shrunk even farther back into his shelter and Lucy could hear him whistle for his mother, but of course, there was no answer. He did this for a long time, and hearing it made Lucy cry even more in sadness until she couldn't take anymore. "Shirestone!" She cried, tears pouring down her face. "She's not coming. She won't ever be coming." The_ Dokukiba_ whimpered and whined and called out again.

Lucy then army crawled over to the entrance and slowly reached an arm down, fully aware that she could be bitten by him. They'd only met once, so she didn't expect him to trust her, but surprisingly, when her hand contacted that beady hide, he did not bite her or react in any way. She felt his overwhelming sadness as she pulled him out of the hole and he seemed much smaller than she remembered, but that fact barely registered in her mind as she cradled the baby to her chest and comforted him.

Loke, who'd been watching the whole thing in silence, stood up straight with a grave expression on his face as he understood the sadness of the atmosphere, and then he picked up Lucy with the _Dokukiba_ bridal style and walked them all the way back home. Not a word was said and the only sound was Lucy's and Shirestone's crying. By the time Loke reached the pool, both were fast asleep in his arms and he just kept walking. The sun was high in the sky by now, which meant that the villagers would be up and about, tending the wounded and fixing things that needed to be fixed.

When Loke entered the sight of the villagers, they went quite and stopped whatever they were doing to stare at his armload and then slowly, one by one, they knelt as a sign of respect to their _nobell_ lady and the _Dokukiba _she held in her arms. They wouldn't touch him because Lucy held him. As Loke got closer to the tree house, Hisoka and Lila spotted them and ran to meet him.

"Loke!" Hisoka gasped when he reached them. He saw that Lucy was asleep and he didn't touch the animal in her arms, or the box for that matter. "Where has she been all this time? We were worried sick. We didn't know where she was or if she was safe-." At that Loke scowled.

"What am I, a cuddle fish?" He asked in disbelief, clearly insulted by the assumption that he couldn't keep his mistress safe.

"Ah, never mind that last bit, but where was she?" He asked. Lila was staring at the _Dokukiba_ in Lucy's arms.

"She was doing what your grandmother asked her to do before she died. She may tell you all about it if she wants, but only when she wants. You'll not be hearing a word of it from me." Loke then stepped back and went around them to continue on to the tree house where he proceeded to Lucy's room to lay her down. He didn't put the blanket over her because it was daytime and it got very hot in the rainforest. When Lucy was safe in her bed, Loke then went back to the spirit realm to wait for the next time she summoned him.

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><p>The scene before them was unsettling. Gray lay on the bed, blankets, sheets and everything else ripped off of him. His mouth was opened wide in a eerily silent scream of torture. His hands were clenched onto the mattress, trying to hold onto something, and his veins were bulging with the effort. At this point, Rayu didn't know if he was really awake or just having night terrors. Night terrors were much worse than nightmares. With night terrors, things seemed extremely real, and when the person wakes up, they don't remember any of what it was. All they remember is that it was terrifying and mind rattling and they weren't sure they even wanted to remember.<p>

Now, though, Rayu lunged for the straps on the bed and tried to strap him down. It was hard because Gray kept arching his back and then thrashing from side to side, but he managed to get the one around his chest secured.

"Erza!" He shouted as he tried to tie down the legs. "Help me!"

Erza, who'd been scared stiff at this sight of her nakama, snapped out of her state of shock and went to help him with shaky hands. They finally managed to tie Gray completely down, with Kaizoku's help, but Gray was still fighting against the bindings and screaming wretchedly without a voice. Rayu wasted no time in beginning his examination. With his magic, he reached deep into Gray's body and searched for the source of whatever it was that plagued him.

Everything seemed tainted with some foreign substance. Through Rayu's magical view of Gray's body, everything was a sickly green color, but there was one spot that was a very nasty rusted blackening color where his injured shoulder was. Rayu drew out of Gray's body and came back to his own and immediately began cutting off the bandages wrapped around Gray's shoulder.

"What's wrong with him? What's going on Rayu?" Erza shouted, scared because she didn't know what was going on.

Rayu didn't answer her, but kept cutting until he finally broke open the bandages. For what he then saw, he cursed himself for not noticing it before. Over the sword wound was a bite mark, a big one, and from the holes left behind from the teeth of whatever had bitten him came a very dark green color that he recognized as a very slow acting poison. Why hadn't he noticed it before? Rayu properly washed his hands and put on a pair of operating gloves before he put both hands on either side of Gray's wound and began pouring his magic into him.

"Keep him still." Was the only instruction that he gave before focusing all of his attention on the poison that infected Gray's body. The ice mage was definitely not awake, not yet. This kind of poison would cause him excruciating pain, but wouldn't allow him to wake up or make any kind of sound. If he didn't hurry, Gray would be dead by midnight.

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><p>I kind of went on a rant up there at the beginning. I'm sorry. I have three tests on tuesday back to back which sucks, but that's school. Anyways, what's going on in your lives? Anything interesting?<p>

I need to re-ask the question I asked you last chapter in a different form because it wasn't what I was expecting at all, but thanks for answering everybody!

**Question:_ Where/How did you learn to put your dishes in the sink after using them and before washing them? From who? Or did you develop the habit yourself?_**

**__**Please give as detailed an answer as you can. This is for Sociology class. Oh, and if you are wondering what **harem** **pants** are, then look up _gypsy harem pants _on the Google search engine and you should find some. The ones that Lucy is wearing go all the way up like normal pants and **do not** go to the knees or anywhere below them. If you're wondering what a **bell sleeve** is, then look up _gypsy bell sleeve_ on the Google search engine and you should find then. The one Lucy has on is one of the big, dramatic ones. There should be a rose pink dress that shows up in the search results and the sleeve is like that.

Thank you for reading and being patient with me. Please don't forget to **REVIEW **and answer the question! I need answers before the week after Thanksgiving. Oh and by the way, **HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!**


	35. Race Against Time

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>I am so sorry. There really is no excuse for this, but I am sorry. My plan was to write three chapters this last week, but I procrastinated and barely got one done. I guess that will be my New Year's resolution: Stop procrastinating! I'm pretty sure I have about a hundred reviews on just last chapter saying UPDATE! Here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it and thank you for being patient with me and continuing to follow me.<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 35- Race Against Time<strong>

It was a nightmare, or as close to one as a Waking Dream could get. Lucy sat bolt right up and breathed in a gasp. She finally had a Waking Dream that showed her the future. Had the circumstances that surrounded it not been what they were, she would have rejoiced over it. Jose's plans had been moved forward. She had three weeks to make a months' journey back home to warn everyone of the coming battle and she had to leave _today_. Lucy swung her legs over the edge of her bed and was about to stand up when something protested rather loudly from her lap. Startled, she looked down and saw that Shirestone hadn't moved itself from its position when she'd first picked him up.

Still half groggy from waking up, she stared at him confusedly for a long minute until she finally remembered why he was there. Then Lucy carefully removed him from her lap before proceeding to get down on the floor and drag out her traveling bag she'd emptied at the beginning of her trip. Lucy slapped it on the bed next to Shirestone and started throwing her clothes in its general direction. As soon as she had all of her belongings on the bed, she began busily packing it all into the bag nowhere near as neatly as she had the first time.

In the middle of doing this, Shirestone whistled and the sound was followed by a familiar sound. Lucy suddenly wanted to slap herself. Shirestone hadn't eaten since his mother died. She scooped him up and went to go find something for him to eat. It was dark outside and it seemed to be late enough that no one was awake, or at least moving about that she could see. _'Wow.'_ she thought. _'My sleeping schedule is all messed up and backwards. I don't even know what day of the week it is anymore.' _ Lucy managed to find something for Shirstone that he would actually eat. He was a surprisingly picky eater and only ate white or red meat. He absolutely refused to eat dark meat. Shirestone also ate some vegetables that she hadn't meant to give him and that came as a relief to her; it meant that she didn't have to spend a lot of money on the expensive meats.

Once he was satisfied, Lucy went back to her room and finished packing her bag. In her bag she also put the geode and the gifts for Hisoka and Lila where they would be safe on the trip back home. Done packing her own things, she grabbed the _Kequesix _and her gale-force reading glasses and began to read the book several times over since she knew that she couldn't take the book with her. Lucy was going to memorize as much of the book as she possibly could in one hour and then she would get Lila and Hisoka up and ready to leave. Shirestone just curled up where he was set on the bed and proceeded to fall asleep watching his new mother work.

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><p>What kind of poison was it? Rayu had never had so much trouble burning out any kind of poison in his entire life; why was this one so different? It was like it had a fighting will of its own, unless it had magic mixed in with it, in which case he might not actually be able to save Gray. Rayu hadn't gotten to learning about magic poisons just yet and right now, he hated himself for not looking ahead. The boy was running out of magical power and Gray was running out of life. He needed more power if he was to even have a chance at surviving.<p>

"Dammit." Rayu cursed. "Dammit!"

"Rayu what's wrong?" Hibiki ran into the room having heard his nakama raise his voice. When he saw the scene before him -Gray strapped to the bed, Erza looking worried sick, and Kaizoku holding tightly to the crystal looking helplessly at Rayu who was bent over Gray and pouring his magic into the ice mage's body- he stopped, frozen in shock.

It wasn't until Hibiki saw Gray open his mouth in what was supposed to be a scream that he snapped out of his shocked state. Hibiki brought up his Archive and asked again, "What is wrong with Gray, Rayu?"

Rayu was sweating from the exertion of magic he was putting out and keeping up. "He's been poisoned." He gasped, huffing. "I didn't see the bite mark before because it was set directly over his other wound." Rayu's limbs were shaking uncontrollably, strength drained.

"What kind of poison is it? I don't ever remember you having a problem with poisons." Hibiki frowned.

"Yeah. I've never had a problem with _natural_, _normal_ poisons. I haven't studied magically infused poisons yet." Rayu's legs were shaking so badly Hibiki was afraid they would collapse under the boy. "Hibiki, if I can't get rid of this poison soon," He huffed, "Gray will be dead by midnight."

"What!?" Erza screeched. She'd been sitting down watching the entire time and Rayu hadn't said anything to her about what was happening. He'd said nothing about the possibility of her nakama dying. "Why didn't you tell me this?"

"Because," Rayu grunted with exertion. "I didn't have the time to do so."

"Tell me everything that you possibly can about this poison, Rayu. I may be able to find something in my archive." Hibiki said calmly. Panicing would help nobody in this situation.

"There's not much to go on." Hibiki placed a stool behind his friend just in time to prevent him from falling on the hard floor. His legs were exhausted. "Thanks." Hibiki nodded and went over to lean on the side table ready to receive information. "Magically infused poison that prevents the victim from using their vocal chords, causes excruciating pain and it was delivered into his body by a snake bite. A big snake bite."

"Alright, let's see if I can find anything." Hibiki said grimly.

"Find what? What are you looking for?" Kaizoku asked innocently as he grabbed onto Hibiki's arm just as his fingers pressed **Search Archive**. The screen flashed as it started to go through the archives of knowledge it possessed. It burned his fingers, as if it were overheating and Hibiki had to yank himself back. What the heck was happening to his magic? It was like it was in hyper drive.

Kaizoku slowly let go of Hibiki's arm and backed up, thinking that whatever was happening wasn't normal and he thought it might be his fault. Magic tended to overreact whenever he was touching or in close proximity to someone who was performing magic. It hadn't happened in so long that he forgot that it happened. Big mistake.

Hibiki, meanwhile, was staring at his Archive, which seemed to have slowed down and had finally reached a result. **Amplifier** was the only word on the screen. Next to the word was an arrow pointing to the side. Hibiki's eyes followed it and landed on Kaizoku who looked like he had done something wrong and was backing away. Amplifier? What did a musical sound instrument have to do with magically infused poison from an oversized snake?

Then it hit him.

Hibiki wasted no time in jumping to his feet and yanking Kaizoku over to Rayu. "Put your hands on Rayu's shoulders." He commanded and when Kaizoku didn't do so, he grabbed his hand and put it where he'd instructed. That was when the boy yanked his hand back and struggled to get out of Hibiki's tight grasp. In that brief moment of contact, Rayu had felt his magic spike and for a moment, he thought he would actually be able to save Gray.

"Let go!" Kaizoku was twisting and thrashing, trying to get away. He didn't want to interrupt the healing guy who was performing magic.

Hibiki suddenly got a face full of fist, courtesy of Erza. "Let him go!" Erza grabbed Kaizoku up off the floor and stuffed him behind her. The archive mage sat up, rubbing his abused cheek. He'd been wondering when that would come.

"Ow." Hibiki leaned over and spit out a bit of blood, also noticing that his jaw was askew. "Kami, you don't hold back." He wiped a hand under his nose and it came back bloody. "Damn." Hibiki grabbed his lower jaw and popped it back into place, groaning in the process. The archive mage finally got some of his senses back and he glared at Erza, obviously still not all there because there wasn't a man alive who glared at the red head and lived to tell the tale. "Dammit Erza! Do you want to save Gray or not?" Hibiki had to us the bed beside him to stand up where he then swayed and stumbled on his feet.

"Saving Gray has nothing to do with Kaizoku! Now I demand to know why you grabbed him!" Erza was clearly angry.

"Because he can help Rayu get the power he needs to arrest the magic and burn out the poison." Hibiki explained, now able to see two of Erza instead of eight. He spit out another mouthful of blood.

Erza narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms solidly over her chest. "How is that so?"

"Because I just felt it." All three people in the room looked at the healer who looked about to collapse. "That boy is an Amplifier. His magic is not meant for offense or defense, it's for increasing power in those mages' magic. And that's exactly what I need right now." Tiredly, Rayu looked over his shoulder at Kaizoku and tried to smile. "Could you please help me? I'm getting low on magic and I could really use a boost."

"Amplifying magic?" Erza looked to be searching through her memory for something. She finally remembered and plunked her fist into her open palm in enlightenment. "Of course." She turned to her little puppy. "You have similar magic to Wendy. Hurry and go help him." With that, she urged him forward towards Rayu. Nervously, Kaizoku placed his hands on the other boy's shoulders, ready to snatch them back at a moments notice.

"That's more like it. Thank you Kaizoku. This is just what I needed." Rayu said as he felt the remains of his magic growing stronger and stronger.

"Don't thank me yet. You still haven't saved that guy. Thank me after you've done so." Kaizoku then hung his head, hiding his tears. This was the first time anyone had ever needed his help and they were counting on him to help this guy Rayu to save Erza's nakama. He would do his best because his best was all he had to give.

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><p>Eyes tired, head pounding, Lucy set down the <em>Kequesix <em>for the last time and took in a deep meditative breath. When she finished exhaling, she opened her eyes again and got up. Lucy headed straight for Lila's room and started packing the few things the girl had taken out of her bag. Happy, who had taken to sleeping with the small girl, woke up as she was doing so.

"Lucy?" He asked tiredly, rubbing one tired eyes with a tiny blue paw. "What are you doing?"

Lucy didn't stop what she was doing, but she smiled at Happy and said. "I'm packing. We have to leave as soon as possible Happy, or else every one of our nakama will be in serious danger. Do you remember the guy who kidnapped me when I was still new to Fairy Tail?"

Happy stretched his cute little cat stretch as he thought about it and plopped back down onto his bum next to Lila who was still sleeping soundly. "Um. . . ."

Lucy sweat dropped. It was so Happy to forget something that had caused such a big commotion. "Nevermind. The only thing you really need to know is that Fairy Tail is in danger and I want to be there in time to help. Now pack whatever you need." Lucy packed the last of Lila's things that she could find and then remembered one more thing that she had to do before she left. "Happy?"

"Yes?" He asked innocently.

"Could you wake Lila up when you're done? I'll get Hisoka." Lucy stood up from her spot on the floor and set Lila's bag upright.

"Sure." Happy was acting his namesake, as usual.

Smiling, Lucy left the room. She had missed Happy so much, but having Happy here constantly reminded her of the person she had left for. Thinking these thoughts, she went to Hisoka's room and started packing his things.

"Lucy? What are you doing?" Lucy turned towards Hisoka's bed. The poor boy looked half asleep, probably because he was, and confused.

She smiled again as she folded his clothes up. "Packing your things. We need to leave as soon as possible. I'm sorry that it's such short notice, but my nakama are in a lot of danger."

"I'll take care of it." He mumbled, literally rolling off his bed.

"Are you sure? You don't look quite awake just yet." Lucy asked, tilting her head to the side.

Hisoka scowled and scratched the back of his head as he sat up. "I'm fine. I can do it."

"Alright, but please keep in mind that we probably aren't coming back here for a long time." Hisoka met Lucy's eyes as she turned to leave and she nodded to him. Sighing, Hisoka hoisted himself up onto his feet and started packing.

Meanwhile, Lucy was now standing in front of Uma's door, trying to gather up the courage to go in. She didn't know how long she stood in front of that door, but when she finally laid her hand on the door latch, it seemed as if her hand weighed a thousand pounds. Lucy undid the latch and the door creaked slowly open into a dark room. It hadn't been touched since Uma had been moved out. The celestial mage quietly stepped into the room, jaw taut, and closed the door behind her. It was silent. Not even a draft.

After standing there for what she knew to be a long time, Lucy drew in a deep, calming breath, and stepped forward in the dark. There was some moonlight coming in through the window, but not much of it due to the dense canopy. However, it was enough for Lucy to find what she had come here for. Uma's walking stick that apparently wasn't a walking stick was leaning against the wall next to the bed, waiting to be used. Lucy couldn't tough it. She left it alone for now and went to the study where the family gypsy book was. She had yet to finish reading it and figure out why no one in her past family had used the ivory keys.

While she searched for the book, Lucy came across a small, leather bound, very worn, pocket sized book. It was a soft leather with a polished metal lock on the side, preventing prying eyes from seeing its contents. The design of the lock was very intricate and smooth, though there was no visible key hole. Curious, Lucy flipped to the spine; no title or author. There was nothing on the back either, save for one word, well, more accurately, name:

_**Umaharra Lucilliad Lunaris**_

Lucy stared. It belonged to Uma. Was it her diary? The blonde couldn't imagine the old lady sitting down and writing about her day in such a small book; it just seemed an impossible picture in Lucy's mind, and yet here was a book that had Uma's full name impressed upon its leather cover.

"Umaharra Lucilliad Lunaris." Lucy said aloud, running a hand over the soft cover. She heard a 'click' and the lock on the book unfolded. Unable to resist, Lucy opened the book and read the first page. The date printed was over fifty years ago and it said:

_My mother passed away today. I was with her when she went on. She told me to go behind the waterfall in the pond, she'd left something there for me. She told only to use them in a time of great need. A last resort item only. I've done what she asked me and I understand why she said to me what she did. These spirits are only a legend to the world, and they should remain that way, if only to keep them safe. More powerful than even the twelve golden keys of the zodiac, these seven spirits must not be used at all costs. Mother entrusted them to me not to be used, but to guard and keep safe from the world._

Lucy frowned. That didn't tell her much, though it was somewhat the answer she had been looking for. The blonde snapped the book shut and the lock slipped back into place as soon as she did so. She stuffed it into her sash and grabbed the family book of gypsies and left the study. Whether the ivory keys were to be used or not, she had a job to do and she would do anything to achieve it. Her nakama came before the world and right now, they were in trouble. Without any hesitation this time, Lucy grabbed up the walking stick in her hand and opened the door.

Lila was standing there fully dressed and ready to go, Happy sitting on her shoulder. Hisoka was leaning against the wall, yawning but not asking any questions. One of them had gotten her bag of which Shirestone was perched upon and gazing at her with big ice eyes. Lucy nodded to them before she grabbed her bag and started toward the door. They reached the stable where they each saddled up a horse and grabbed another for packing food.

"I hope you both packed everything you wanted because we aren't coming back here for a long time." Lucy looked at both of them and they nodded. Without saying another word, Lucy mounted and urged her horse out of the tree onto the path they took to get here. It was all foliage. "Reopen the path from my grandmother's tree, let these new warriors become free." She didn't know how she knew the words to open up the path, but the trees started moving out of the way and Lucy urged her horse forward at a trot, Lila following behind her and Hisoka taking up the rear leading the pack horse.

With the parting of the canopy came the flood of moonlight onto the path and her company behind her only noticed it when that pale light hit the mark on the back of Lucy's right hand.

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><p>Yay. . . next chapter! that's probably what you are all thinking right now. I need to figure out a way to get my school work done and my church functions done and still have time to write. Schedules are things that I love to plan but half the time never follow unless it's a really big event. Anyway, thanks for reading, I hope that you all liked it and please don't forget to review. I'm sorry it's so late I'll try to get the next one in sooner.<p>

P.S. : A random fact about dating: I've had three boyfriends, but I've never dated any of them. Dating is called dating because you've gone out on dates. Same with 'Going out' it implies that you've gone out with somebody. I've never been anywhere with any of my 'boyfriends' so would that still count as me being in a relationship with a guy that says we're supposedly more than friends?

If you don't understand the question, then don't answer it, OH! You guys were a lot of help on my sociology project. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions. Please don't forget to REVIEW and THANK YOU ^/ _ \^


	36. Team Natsu Returns

**Replaced**

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?

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><p>I'm so sorry everyone. I've been so busy lately. Most recently I got my stitches out of my lip where one of my dogs decided to take out a chunk of flesh. I had that in for two weeks. Sorry guys. I didn't mean to keep you all waiting for three months. Happy Easter everyone! I hope this will make your day!<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 36- Team Natsu Returns<strong>

Although Lucy was still gone, the guild had almost gotten back to normal. Everyone was still well aware that Lucy wasn't here, but they all mutually agreed to avoid the subject and just worried internally on whether or not they'd ever be able to see Lucy again. On the guild calendar they had unconsciously started to mark down the days till Lucy was supposed to return, but again, nobody said anything about the matter and they all just anxiously glanced at the calendar to figure out how many more months till her return. Although the Lucy topic was moot, the other three guild members, Natsu, Gray, and Erza, were openly speculated and often a topic of discussion. Fairy Tail knew that the three could handle themselves easily in a fight, but they were extremely skeptical about Lucy being able to hold her own and that was the main reason why everyone was so anxious for her to return. They wanted to see _if_ she returned and they hoped more than anything that she would.

The three other members of team Natsu had been gone quite a long time and Makarov assumed that they had finished up their jobs quickly and went looking for their ex-teammate. Makarov could only hope that they hadn't found Lucy. They would find their way back to the guild eventually, more hopefully at the end of Lucy's yearlong training session. Meanwhile Lisanna was back with her brother and sister and was helping Mira out with the bar and serving. After all of this time away from Natsu, and time spent with her siblings -her _real_ siblings- instead, Lisanna was able to reflect upon her actions and draw out the conclusion that her actions on the job with Natsu, Erza, and Gray had not been the best choice. She had done a lot of thinking and she came up with a suitable reason why she had acted the way she did and she thought it was because she had been so used to the Edolas Natsu who was weak outside of his car, that she just instantly forgot she wasn't in Edolas anymore. That's what she convinced herself of anyway.

Whether that was the truth or not, what happened happened and there was nothing anyone could do to change it. Lisanna just wanted to be best friends with Natsu again, just like they were before she got sucked into Edolas, but from her observations of him the month after they returned from their job, it wasn't ever going to be at that level again. Natsu had found someone even more precious than herself, though the idiot probably didn't even realize it himself. Lucy was special to him, in a different and deeper way than Lisanna had been to Natsu. When she realized this, Lisanna couldn't help but feel a little bit jealous of Lucy, however she quickly smothered the emotion and it just turned into less than violent envy. Just a longing to have things return to the way they used to be.

Levy, always worrying about her blonde friend, had buried herself in her books since Lucy's disappearance and Jet and Droy had had to go on several missions without her because they couldn't get through the barricade of books that was in her apartment. The bluenette often did this when she was worried or upset for any reason. The only reason she had been able to hole up in her apartment for six whole months was because she had plenty of money saved in her savings account and that was how she managed to pay her rent and eat for all those months.

That period of solitude ended when Gazille came back from his seventh job since Lucy's disappearance and found that the bookworm still hadn't come to the guild. As soon as he heard about it, the metallic dragonslayer marched right down to her apartment and forced his way in to find Levy reading a book surrounded by piles of more books in a fortress built out of books in her living room. The dragonslayer, unimpressed with the feat, took the book from the girl, slammed it down, threw the surprised script mage over his shoulder and hiked her all the way back to the guild where he sat her down by the car and then ordered something to eat for himself. He was tired from his job and grumpy with Levy's antics.

The only word that had come in about any of the three members of team Natsu since they left had come in the form of rumors. The last ones said they had been staying at Blue Pegasus for reasons unknown. Although Fairy Tail was on good terms with Blue Pegasus, the members were still uneasy. They hadn't gotten any word from any of the absentees from team Natsu, and they usually sent one at least once a week. The tension in the guild was getting stronger and everyone could feel it.

Then one day, a month and a week before Lucy was supposed to return, the doors to the guild slowly creaked open to admit a very tired looking armored mage with her arm wrapped around a seemingly unconscious pink haired dragonslayer. The pink hair was almost completely covered with white bandages that were wrapped all around his head and various other places on his body. On his other side, struggling to support him, was a small blue haired boy who looked skinny and about to fall asleep.

"Erza! Natsu! What happened?" Mira cried, running up to them and taking the little boy's burden from him. He didn't resist and gladly let her take Natsu's weight from his shoulders, but as soon as it was gone, he swayed and what little weight he had worked against him and had him falling toward the hardwood floor in a dead faint. Erza had to lunge to catch him before he gave himself a concussion and she flipped him over her shoulder.

"Where's Wendy? We need her now." Erza said, voice harsh and overused.

"I'm here! What happened? I'll heal Natsu-." Wendy was reaching for Natsu as she said this, but Erza yanked him away, surprising everyone.

"It's not him that needs healing, it's Gray." As Erza moved out of the doorway and farther into the room, Hibiki came in with unconscious Gray on his back. The bandage wrapped around his shoulder had started bleeding again and the ice mage looked paler than he normally was. On top of that he was shivering profusely, and having an ice mage shivering was never a good sign.

"Oh my. . ." Wendy put her small hands over her mouth, appalled.

"Erza, what. . . ?" Lisanna was saying as she came up to help.

"He's been poisoned. We've helped them out getting them both stabilized, but Rayu was reaching his limit and he can't heal as well as you can Wendy." Hibiki explained.

After that little scene with Gray, Rayu, and Kaizoku, Hibiki suggested that they return to Fairy Tail where Wendy was so that they could get better treatment. Although Erza had refused to go until they figured out what had happened to Gray, Hibiki managed to convince her when it happened again about a week and a half later and Rayu admitted that he couldn't do it anymore, even with Kaizoku helping him. Fairy Tail was closer to Wendy and Porlyusica who were both better at dealing with poisons than he was.

Erza, after going the whole way without resting and always carrying one of her teammates, finally collapsed and was caught by one of Makarov's gigantified hands. Gently, he set her and the child down on the floor to sleep and came up to look at the battered faces of his children, frowning.

"Who's this young one?" Makarov finally ventured and bent to turn the underweight boy face up. When he did so, he heard a gasp that came from Wendy.

"Kaizoku?" She asked to no one in particular. The boy remained sound asleep next to Erza as Wendy touched his face and looked over him to make sure he wasn't injured. The only thing she could find was that he was underweight. "Thank _goodness_ you're alright. I thought you were dead." Wendy began to cry.

"Wendy?" Makarov placed a hand on her back. "Do you know who this is?"

Wendy looked up at him with teary eyes and cried, "He's my twin brother."

That took everyone by surprise. Wendy had a brother? Then where has he been all this time?

"Master," Mira's voice broke through the shock. "We should get them to a bed."

Makarov looked up at Mira's worried expression and nodded. They did need to get to a bed.

"Natsu should be fine." Hibiki explained. "It's Gray that needs the attention." Hibiki readjusted his grip on Gray. " Although they were both hit by an SE carriage, Gray had been injured even before then. Natsu's a bit scrambled, but he's healing fine and just needs to sleep it off. Rayu said it was okay for him to be taken to his house. Gray still hasn't come out of his comatose and at this rate, he never will."

"Give me flamebrain, I'll take him home." Everyone turned and stared at the sound of Gazille's voice. His demeanor hadn't changed, although Levy knew better than to believe the outside appearance. She knew he was just as worried and confused as the rest of the guild. "I know where he lives."

Without another word, Gazille grabbed the pinkette from Mira's grasp and walked off, being careful not to jostle the guy too much.

"Oh shit, Wendy!" Hibiki slung Gray off his back onto the floor and started doing compressions. He'd stopped breathing again.

"I'm coming!" Wendy jumped over her brother to aid Hibiki and immediately went to work on Gray who was now going into convulsions. It was painful for everyone to watch as Wendy worked her Healing Spell on Gray. "Hibiki-kun, please tell me everything that you know about his condition."

"His shoulder wound is from a sword of some sort and on top of it he was bit by something that poisoned him. He wasn't hit as hard as Natsu was by the carriage, those wounds are already healed. It's the poison that won't let him wake up. It-."

"Prevents its victims from using their vocal chords and causes excruciating pain. I've encountered this kind of poison before, during the Nirvana incident. Remember when Erza was poisoned by Cobra?" Wendy asked.

Hibiki could only stare. "You mean to say that this is Cobra's work?"

"Yes, but it's more powerful than before. I'm gonna need some things to make this easier." Wendy said, all business.

"Just tell us what you need Wendy and we'll get it." That was Mira's voice from right next to her.

Wendy nodded and started listing off the things she'd need.

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><p>Gazille had dropped Natsu off at his house five hours ago, so why couldn't he bring himself to leave the idiot? The iron dragonslayer looked into the bedroom again where Natsu was sleeping soundly under the covers and yes, Gazille had placed the flame dragonslayer <em>under<em> the covers and had brought them all the way up to Natsu's chin like they were supposed to be.

People thought he was insensitive and uncaring of others, but that was only half true. He cared about certain people and, as much as he hated to admit it, Natsu was one of those certain people. Gazille didn't quite understand it, but he just pushed it off on being a dragonslayer connection between them. Even Wendy was somewhat special to him, and he disliked kids, but only because he wasn't good with them. They always cried when he tried to be nice.

Now he couldn't leave the idiot alone by himself with no one there to wake up to. This was all bunny girl's fault for leaving and worrying everyone sick. Gazille finally just pulled up the only chair in the house next to the bed and planted himself in it, resolving not to move until the idiot woke up. Just as he'd made that thought, his keen ears picked up a soft knock on the wooden door. He knew exactly who it was just from that small sound, so, sighing in annoyance, he got up to open the door for Levy who had two bags of groceries in each hand. She just smiled up at him and held out a hand full of grocery bags. She knew him too well, and he hoped she was the _only_ one who did. It would be embarrassing if it was anybody else. Levy, at least, could keep a secret.

"We may be here a while, so I brought some food for both of us, and Natsu when he wakes up. I'm sure he'll be hungry." Levy explained as Gazille took the offered bags.

"We? Us? You plan on staying here too?" Gazille asked, suddenly skeptical and a bit nervous.

"Well duh. I'm not going to leave you alone and I'm sure Natsu would like a more welcoming face to wake up to." Levy said innocently, making Gazille glare as they walked to Natsu's kitchen. "No offense Gazille, but you don't exactly have the prettiest face. You might scare him when he wakes up."

Gazille just set the bags on the counter and snorted unflatteringly. Levy just frowned. She hated it when he did that and he knew it. "I'll make lunch. You go watch Natsu."

"Fine." And Gazille disappeared into the bedroom. Levy then got out the rice and started to clean it. As she did, she looked around the room. It was surprisingly quite orderly for Natsu and, other than a coating of dust from the long absence, clean. To be honest, Levy thought that it would be more chaotic since this was Natsu's house and he is male. She decided that she would get to cleaning the dust away when she finished making lunch.

Meanwhile, Gazille was sitting in the chair beside the bed, brooding. He still was embarrassed to admit that Natsu was a -and he soured his face up when he thought this- close friend and very important to him. He truly was worried about Natsu and hoped that the idiot would wake up soon otherwise he was going to slap him and _make_ him wake up. Gazille could smell Levy's cooking and frankly, it was making his mouth water. He'd never tasted Levy's cooking before and right now he was kind of regretting he hadn't because just the _smell_ was killing him. Unable to help himself, Gazille followed his nose back out into the kitchen.

Levy spotted him and gave him her white toothed smile. "It's almost done. Go wash your hands before you eat." When he gave her a scowl, Levy planted her feet and placed her hands solidly on her hips. "You heard me, now get."

Still frowning, Gazille grudgingly went to the sink to wash his hands. Levy was surprisingly very traditional, she even set the small breakfast table that was in between the living room and kitchen. "Alright. Don't scarf like you do those metal scraps, chew properly like a civilized being or else I won't be cooking for you again." Levy threatened as she served up her meal.

"Isn't this a lot of food for just two people?" Gazille asked and he ate.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." To this, Gazille just rolled his eyes. "I know it's a lot of food. I want there to be some for Natsu when he wakes up and we have no clue when that will be. I want there to be food for him to eat when he does."

Gazille suddenly set his rice bowl down, contents not quite gone yet, and seemed to stare off into space. He was concentrating on something. Levy assumed that it was a sound so she stayed as quite as she could, but carried on eating.

"You should get his food ready then, because flamebrain just woke up." Gazille said, getting to his feet and making his way to the bedroom. Levy, unable to help herself, dashed after him to see Natsu with his eyes open and trying to sit up. Gazille helped the guy sit up and propped the pillow up behind him.

"Where am I?" Natsu's voice was thick with disuse.

"You're at your house Natsu." Levy explained, trying to contain her excitement.

"How'd I get here?" Natsu rubbed his forehead.

"I brought you home." Gazille growled.

"Oh!" Levy finally threw herself at the pinkette and hugged him tightly. "I'm so glad you're okay! We were worried sick Natsu!"

"Speak for yourself." The iron dragonslayer muttered to himself.

Levy glared at him for a split second. "I speak for everyone when I say 'we'." The script mage pulled away from Natsu to look at his bewildered face, only to start crying and pulling back into a hug. "I'm so glad you're back home safe."

Natsu, not really knowing what to do helplessly looked at Gazille for advice, but all he had to say was, "Now look what you did, you made her cry." Natsu just ended up hugging Levy and patting her on the back to calm her down. The moment ended when his stomach let out a very loud and impatient sound that seemed to echo through the room.

"I'm sorry. You're hungry aren't you. I'll go get your lunch right away." Levy sniffled happily and, before Natsu could say anything, disappeared from the room.

"How long have I been asleep?" Natsu asked, watching the door. He could now smell the scent of Levy's cooking and it was making his stomach speak its own language and he was constantly having to swallow to keep from drooling.

"Beats me. It's almost June, though, if that helps any."

"June?" Natsu sounded shocked.

"Not quite yet, but almost." Gazille corrected.

Just then, Levy came in with a tray full of food and Natsu forgot what he was about to say. He was _ravenous_. "Don't scarf or you'll just end up throwing it back up." Levy instructed. Gazille just exited to go finish his own lunch. Natsu ate enough for three people and he could have eaten more, but there wasn't any food left for him to eat.

"I'm still hungry Levy-chan." Natsu whined, flailing his bowl at her to bring him more. Natsu was definitely more himself, and it was starting to piss Gazille off.

"You've eaten everything I've cooked. There's nothing more to give you." Levy told him, snatching the bowl from him. "I wonder if Gray will be this hungry?" She wondered aloud.

Natsu stopped whatever he was doing and froze, remembering. "Gray." He then looked at Levy with a heavy expression. "What's happened to Gray?"

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><p>Happy Easter again! Thank you all for your support on this fanfiction. I might not have gotten this chapter done if you guys hadn't stopped messaging me and nagging me. Have a splendid rest of the week everyone.<p>

Please REVIEW even though I have been negligent of you all! I need somebody to edge me on!


	37. Apologies Everyone

HEY EVERYONE! I am very sorry for the inconvenience of no updates. A lot has happened in the past year that has kept me from doing so, starting from the last update in March of last year. After that update I had to study for my finals and then I graduated. After that I moved to Moses Lake Washington and shortly got a job thereafter. I kept looking at the story throughout that time, but I had a terrible case of writer's block. Then I got a new computer and it took me a while to transfer all the files. I've taken up painting recently too. I'm actually supposed to be working on my latest one now instead of writing this, but I felt that I should face the fireworks. I was actually avoiding fanfiction because I knew that I needed to finish Replaced and Followers can be scary sometimes. Don't worry about me not finishing Replaced because I'm bound and determined to finish everything that I start. It may be a bit longer before the next chapter is out because I need to regain some perspective by rereading Replaced and then I'll get back to writing.


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